On Thursday’s broadcast of “CNN News Central,” Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said that Israel did agree to President Joe Biden’s proposal on a ceasefire and still does agree to it, “and the imperative also continues to be on Hamas to get to yes.” But getting a deal will also “require some flexibility on behalf of the government of Israel.”
Patel said, “Secretary Blinken was in the region just a number of weeks ago, where he announced that the government of Israel, including the prime minister, agreed to the bridging proposal that President Biden laid out earlier this year, and that, of course, continues to be the case, and the imperative also continues to be on Hamas to get to yes.”
Co-host Boris Sanchez then asked, “[T]he prime minister in Israel is being accused of purposefully tanking a deal with Hamas, making last-minute demands. Do you believe that Netanyahu has been negotiating in good faith?”
Patel answered, “Look, I’m certainly not going to negotiate in public, but what I can reiterate is what you heard clearly from the President and the Secretary of State, which is that the government of Israel, including the Prime Minister, have committed to the bridging proposal that was laid out by the President, and, of course, continuing work is necessary to talking about some of the specific technical and implementing details as it relates to that, and that work will continue.”
Later, Sanchez asked how the administration approaches talks when there are charges that both sides don’t want a deal.
Patel responded, “[W]e continue to believe that it is possible, but, look, you’ve heard colleagues of mine across the administration say that this process, it’s a negotiation, and it’s not only going to require Hamas to get to yes, but it’s also going to require some flexibility on behalf of the government of Israel.”
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