Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, announced Friday that negotiations to free hostages in Gaza and establish a cease-fire were nearing completion.
According to the New York Times, this comes as preparations are underway for a potentially tense visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington next week.
Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, Blinken mentioned that the talks were “inside the 10-yard line.”
Later, Sullivan noted at the same forum that a final agreement was unlikely before Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, a speech that some U.S. officials fear could complicate the deal with Hamas.
Sullivan emphasized that President Joe Biden would prioritize completing this deal in his meetings with Netanyahu, aiming to clear the remaining obstacles in the coming weeks.
“We are mindful that there remain obstacles in the way,” Sullivan stated, “and let’s use next week to try to clear through those obstacles.”
Both officials, key advisers to Biden, did not address how the president would manage the crisis affecting his reelection campaign alongside his dealings with Netanyahu.
Instead, they concentrated on the challenging process of getting Israel and Hamas to finalize a cease-fire agreement based on terms Biden proposed in May.
The aim is to pressure Hamas into agreeing to a negotiated end to the violence and the release of hostages taken during the October 7 terrorist attack.
Blinken expressed optimism, noting that Hamas had accepted Biden’s framework. However, he acknowledged the difficulties in finalizing details, including security arrangements in Gaza and plans for postwar governance and increased relief supplies.
“When I say we are inside the 10-yard line, we are,” Blinken remarked. “Now, we also know that with anything, the last 10 yards are often the hardest.”
Blinken stressed that Hamas could not resume power in Gaza, nor could the Israeli occupation continue.
“What we can’t have is an agreement that’s followed by some kind of void that will either be filled by Hamas coming back, which is unacceptable, by Israel prolonging its occupation of Gaza, which they say they don’t want to do and is unacceptable,” Blinken said. “Or just having a vacuum that’s filled by lawlessness, that’s filled by chaos, which we see in so many parts of Gaza right now.”
Hamas officials have indicated willingness to transfer civil and police control to an independent authority. U.S. officials prefer security control be handed to a force of Palestinians allied with the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, a move Hamas resists as they refuse to relinquish control of their security forces.
Before the October 7 attacks, Blinken and Sullivan were negotiating a potential deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia, aimed at achieving Saudi recognition of Israel—an extension of the Trump-era Abraham Accords.
This deal would also have necessitated the creation of a Palestinian state, which Netanyahu has long opposed.
Renewing these negotiations has been impossible without a cease-fire. When asked if hopes for a Palestinian state were still viable, Blinken humorously quoted Sen. John McCain, saying, “It’s always darkest before it goes completely black,” but quickly added that aspirations for an independent Palestinian state “can’t be” dead.
Sullivan downplayed the potential impact of Netanyahu’s upcoming speech, unlike Netanyahu’s 2015 address which undermined support for the Iran nuclear deal. Sullivan mentioned that while he did not expect to see a copy of the speech beforehand, he believed Netanyahu would align his remarks with Biden’s policies. Israeli officials in Washington this week previewed the speech themes, suggesting they would not contradict U.S. policy.
“They said he’s intending to reinforce a set of themes and arguments that are not at odds or in contradiction to our policy, American policy,” Sullivan said. “But they’re going to keep working that speech till the very last minute, just like we do on our side.”
Both Blinken and Sullivan reaffirmed U.S. commitments to Ukraine, steering clear of discussing the potential impact of a Trump and Vance administration that might cut off U.S. aid.
Instead, they highlighted growing bilateral agreements among European and Asian allies to support Ukraine for the next decade.
They also addressed China’s increasing role in supplying Russia with electronics and high-tech products to rebuild its military.
A coordinated U.S. effort to provide European allies with intelligence on this issue led to a strong European demand for China to cease such activities.
“Writ large, the picture is not pretty,” Sullivan said. “China continues to be a major supplier of dual-use items to Russia’s war machine.”
In response to a report that Russia might send arms, including ship-killing missiles, to the Houthis in Yemen, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. CQ Brown avoided confirming intelligence details but emphasized the U.S. preference for Russia not to broaden the conflict.
“The key point is we do not want them to broaden the conflict. And them supporting the Houthis, if that is what they are doing, helps to broaden the conflict and just makes it more complicated in the Middle East,” Brown said.
