Fidan to Blinken: Israel must be pressured to achieve a permanent ceasefire in Gaza

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan received a phone call from his American counterpart Anthony Blinken today, Monday, during which they discussed the negotiations process for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Fidan called on the United States to pressure Israel to achieve a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and to abandon "provocative steps" that would expand the scope of the conflict in the region. The Turkish Foreign Minister stressed that the martyrdom of the head of the Hamas political bureau Ismail Haniyeh and the ongoing massacre against the Palestinians show once again that Israel is not ready to make peace, noting that the Palestinian movement has previously shown a constructive position regarding the ceasefire. Hamas had asked the truce mediators in the Gaza Strip yesterday, Sunday, to submit a plan to implement what they had offered to the movement and agreed to on July 2, based on the vision of US President Joe Biden and the Security Council resolution, and to oblige the occupation to do so, instead of going to more rounds of negotiations or new proposals that provide cover for the occupation's aggression and give it more time. Biden had put forward the terms of a deal offered to him by Israel early last June "to stop the fighting and release all detainees, and Hamas accepted it at the time," according to Hebrew media. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added new conditions that his government's Defense Minister Yoav Galant and Mossad chief David Barnea considered would hinder reaching the deal. Netanyahu later added other conditions, including deporting Palestinian prisoners with high sentences to other countries such as Qatar and Turkey. Source: National Iraqi News Agency