There is little hope for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages before the start of Ramadan. Now US President Joe Biden is apparently losing patience with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The American head of state announced this to the public via a forgotten microphone after his State of the Union on Thursday.
In his speech, Biden warned Israel that humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza “should not be a secondary consideration or leverage.” Biden sharply criticized Netanyahu’s uncompromising stance on the issue. “Protecting and saving innocent lives must be a priority,” he said.
‘Netanyahu must allow more aid’
Shortly after the speech, with the microphone still on, Biden announced in an apparently private setting with senators and his secretary of state that he wanted to “take the bait” from Netanyahu: “I said to Bibi, ‘You and I are going to have a having a conversation ‘Come to the Jesus meeting,'” he said, calling Netanyahu by his nickname. In the US, the colloquial term “Come to Jesus” is used to describe a meeting where nothing is discussed. Later, Biden followed suit again, responding to the question of whether Netanyahu should allow more aid to the Gaza Strip with: “Yes, he should.”
Biden told reporters on Friday during a visit to the state of Pennsylvania that the chances of a ceasefire and the release of hostages from the hands of the Islamist Hamas before the start of the Islamic fasting month were “low.” Many had hoped for such an agreement so that more aid could reach the Gaza Strip and Hamas hostages could be released.
Ramadan: Hamas leader calls for storming of Al-Aqsa mosque
Moreover, fears of a further escalation during Ramadan had recently increased after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who lives in Qatar, called on all Palestinians to flock to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem at the start of Ramadan. The Islamic month of fasting begins on Monday or Sunday evening, depending on the sighting of the crescent moon.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that the problem in the negotiations was Hamas. “The ball is in their court,” Blinken said during a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Washington. The Hamas delegation broke off talks in Cairo on Thursday mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar and traveled to Doha for consultations. The reason given was that the Israeli government’s previous responses “did not meet the minimum requirements.”
Source: Krone
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