US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken renewed Israel's acquittal of obstructing the exchange deal that has been being negotiated for several months with Qatari-Egyptian-American mediation, reiterating the accusation that Hamas is obstructing the deal.

Blinken said - according to what was reported by Agence France-Presse - that they are waiting for Hamas to agree to a ceasefire and the release of the hostages, reiterating that the only obstacle between the residents of the Gaza Strip and the ceasefire is Hamas, he said.

The American minister considered that it was possible to have a Palestinian state while maintaining Israel's security.

Regarding the issue of Rafah, Blinken said that the US administration’s position is firm in this context, as “a clear plan must be presented to protect civilians before Israel takes the decision to enter Rafah,” stressing that a large Israeli army operation in Rafah will cause damage beyond what is acceptable.

The leader of American diplomacy did not specifically specify what is the acceptable amount of damage, but since the beginning of the aggression on the Gaza Strip on October 7, he has been stressing the need to enable the Israeli army to defeat Hamas in Gaza, and to enable Israel with what he describes as the right to defend itself.

This "right", which the American administration continues to "expand" to grant to Israel, is what has made it so far refuse to acknowledge the existence of genocide in the Gaza Strip, despite the continuous bloodshed since last October 7, and despite the fact that the number of victims of the aggression now approaches 112,000, including dead and injured. 

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said earlier that the United States does not see any actions in Gaza as constituting genocide, commenting on South Africa starting judicial proceedings against Israel in the International Court of Justice related to genocide due to its war on the Gaza Strip.

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Miller said in a regular press conference, "These are allegations that must be carefully verified. We do not see any acts that constitute genocide, as this is what the State Department has determined."

The White House also considered that the lawsuit filed by South Africa before the International Court of Justice, in which it accused Israel of committing “genocide” against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, was “baseless” and “counterproductive.”

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby went in the same direction, saying, "This lawsuit is not based on any facts."

Continuous bias towards Israel

Although Washington is currently mediating with both Qatar and Egypt in negotiations regarding a possible exchange deal between Hamas and Israel, it has continued, from day one, its strong bias towards Israel, and has repeatedly been forced to stand alone in international forums to defend its ally.

In his first visit to Israel after the Al-Aqsa flood, Blinken said that the Congressional administration is working to ensure that Israel's increasing defense needs are met, explaining that he did not come to Israel only as Secretary of State of the United States, but as "a Jew whose grandfather escaped murder."

Throughout the following months, Blinken made repeated statements exonerating Israel and blaming Hamas and the resistance factions for the continuation of the war and obstructing the exchange deal.

A few days ago, after Hamas received the new Egyptian proposal, Blinken said during his recent visit to Israel that Hamas must decide whether it will accept the agreement, as there is “no time for procrastination or manipulation, and no time for further delay,” as he put it.

Blinken added - from the Israeli port of Ashdod - that Hamas must accept the deal if it cares about the Palestinians in Gaza, noting that Israel made important concessions to reach a deal to release detainees in Gaza, and he also spoke before that about a generous Israeli offer made to Hamas, and that it must Accordingly, she must accept it.

Before that, Blinken claimed that “the only thing standing between the residents of Gaza and the ceasefire is the Hamas movement, which rejects tempting offers from Israel.”

Blinken accused Hamas of being "more interested in provoking a regional conflict than reaching a ceasefire," as he put it.

Blinken's statements came during a press conference held on the sidelines of the Group of Seven meetings on the Italian island of Capri last April 19, in which he claimed that "Hamas rejected tempting offers from Israel for a ceasefire" in the Gaza Strip.

In response, the Hamas movement said that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s claim that it is obstructing the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is “blatant bias” towards Israel, and a confirmation of the US administration’s blatant bias towards Zionist fascism.”

Hamas considered that these allegations are “a falsification of reality, which confirms that the one obstructing the course of the negotiations and for his personal political calculations is the terrorist (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu.”

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies