US launches lobbying campaign to sell Gaza ceasefire plan to Hamas through Arab, Muslim countries

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has launched an intense campaign to persuade Hamas and Israel to accept a new cease-fire proposal in the nearly eight-month-old war in Gaza, while pressuring Arab countries for the militant group to rally around. terms.

As President Joe Biden suggested in a Time magazine interview published Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could prolong the war against Hamas to ensure his political survival. Biden, who gave this interview a week ago, appeared to tone down his criticism during a brief exchange with reporters following a speech on immigration at the White House.

In response to a question about whether Netanyahu was playing politics with the war, Biden replied: “I don’t think so. He is trying to solve his serious problem.

Netanyahu faces a far-right coalition that has threatened to break up his government if the prime minister accepts a new ceasefire proposal, which Biden announced Friday as an Israeli plan. Since then, Biden and his top aides have not only pushed for Israel and Hamas to approve the deal, but also worked by phone with Arab and Muslim countries.

Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan have all made calls, and Brett McGurk, the White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, will travel to the region this week to further advocate for the deal. The plan would aim to free remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas and lead to the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

Since Friday, Blinken has spoken with the foreign ministers of Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Algeria, according to the State Department . Blinken also spoke over the weekend with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz, another member of Netanyahu's war cabinet.

Biden spoke Monday with the emir of Qatar — whose country, along with Egypt, played a major role in trying to broker a truce and persuade Hamas to accept one.

This was quickly followed by a joint statement from the leaders of the Group of Seven advanced democracies calling “for Hamas to accept this agreement, that Israel is ready to move forward, and we urge countries with influence over Hamas to help ensure that it does so.” therefore.” The G7 includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

Also on Monday, Sullivan spoke with his Turkish counterpart about the “urgent need for Hamas to accept Israel's proposal.”

A Biden administration official said Tuesday that McGurk, who shuttled between Washington and Middle Eastern capitals throughout the war for talks with key regional stakeholders, would return to the region this week. The official requested anonymity to discuss McGurk's travels which have not yet been publicly announced.

U.S. officials say Hamas has not yet responded to the proposal sent to them on Thursday and have bristled at suggestions that Netanyahu is not fully on board. They repeatedly stressed that the Israelis agreed to send the proposal to Hamas last week.

But two leaders of Netanyahu's far-right governing coalition – National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich – threatened to leave Netanyahu's government if he approved the proposal. This would lead to the collapse of the coalition.

Netanyahu said there were some “gaps” in the way Biden presented the proposal and that Israel would not agree to a permanent ceasefire until “the destruction of the military and government capabilities of the Hamas, the release of all hostages and the guarantee that Gaza is no longer liberated.” poses a threat to Israel.

In the Time interview conducted on May 28, three days before announcing the ceasefire proposal, Biden was asked about criticism in Israel suggesting Netanyahu was prolonging the war for reasons of political self-preservation. Biden initially said he wasn't going to comment, then noted that “there's every reason for people to draw that conclusion.”

White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters Tuesday that the president's comments in Time “referred to what many critics have said.” For our part, he and Prime Minister Netanyahu do not agree on everything.”

But Kirby said the United States would continue to work with its ally to fight Hamas and get the ceasefire plan approved.

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AP reporter Seung Min Kim contributed from Washington.