Hamas has proposed a 135 day ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for the release of hostages they are holding in Gaza. The deal would include the withdrawal of Israeli military forces from the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the proposal with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. During his visit, Blinken stated he is working with Qatar and Egypt to reach an agreement, stating on X, “Together with our partners in Qatar and Egypt we’ve put forth a serious proposal aimed at not just repeating, but expanding the previous pause in fighting to achieve the release of the remaining hostages and surge humanitarian relief to Gaza.”
During his visit to the Middle East, Blinken met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and discussed the establishment of a Palestinian state. Blinken spoke on the discussion, stating at a press conference:
I had the opportunity to discuss again with Prince Mohammed bin Salman the way forward really for the region as a whole. And I said a few minutes ago how there is an incredibly powerful path that that lies before us, but it’s going to require everyone involved to make hard decisions. None of this comes easy. But with regard specifically to normalization, the crown prince reiterated Saudi Arabia’s strong interest in pursuing that. But he also made clear what he had said to me before, which is that in order to do that two things are required: an end to the conflict in Gaza and a clear, credible, time-bound path to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The Saudi foreign ministry made the following statement in a press release on X:
The Kingdom has communicated its firm position to the U.S. administration that there will be no diplomatic relations with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is recognized on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, and that the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip stops and all Israeli occupation forces withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
