WAR ON GAZA
3 min read
US keeps Gaza truce details secret, voices support for Israel amid West Bank annexation calls
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce refuses to reveal modalities involved in Trump's Gaza truce plan and reiterates Washington "stands with Israel" as senior Israeli ministers call for annexation of occupied West Bank.
US keeps Gaza truce details secret, voices support for Israel amid West Bank annexation calls
Asked how is the new proposal different from previous truce deals, Bruce says, "It's not going to be the world's longest ceasefire." / AP
9 hours ago

Washington, DC — The US State Department has lauded President Donald Trump's proposal for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and cautioned Hamas to accept it while declining to provide specific details regarding the proposal, which Trump stated has been accepted by Israel and is currently under review by Hamas.

"I won't go to the details that what's in the in the proposal. But I think the president's message is clear. This is one that has to be accepted because it will only get worse if they (Hamas) don't," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told a regular media briefing on Wednesday in Washington.

Asked how is the new proposal different from previous truce deals, she said, "It's not going to be the world's longest ceasefire."

"It's going to be peace that's achieved fundamentally by the changes on the ground which we have already seen implemented over the last couple of weeks," she said, referring to 12-day Israeli and US strikes on Iran that followed a truce between Tehran and Tel Aviv.

Calling Gaza "an uninhabitable place", she said the Palestinians territory needs to be rebuilt "with the help of Arab partners."

"We don't have a ceasefire yet. Hopefully, that will change. But that is getting quite ahead of the dynamic in general."

Trump said on Tuesday that Israel has agreed to "the necessary conditions" to finalise a 60-day ceasefire in the besieged enclave, urging Hamas to accept the proposal.

Trump did not detail what conditions were agreed upon by Tel Aviv.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also said on Wednesday that his country was serious about reaching a truce deal with Hamas, which has confirmed receiving proposals from mediators.

Hamas stated in a statement on Wednesday that it was "conducting national consultations to discuss" the proposals.

It stated its aim "to reach an agreement that guarantees an end to the aggression, secures the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and urgently aids our people in the Gaza Strip".

Next week, Trump is scheduled to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.

RelatedTRT Global - Hamas confirms receipt of new Gaza ceasefire proposal

Occupied West Bank annexation calls

On the issue of Likud ministers exhorting Netanyahu to annex occupied West Bank, Bruce said, "Our position regarding Israel, the choices it makes, is that we stand with Israel and its decisions and how it views its own internal security."

Fourteen Israeli ministers and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana signed a joint letter on Wednesday demanding that Netanyahu immediately annex the occupied territory. Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin also joined the calls, saying "the time for sovereignty has come."

In a letter addressed to Netanyahu and shared by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on X, the signatories called on the government "to apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria (occupied West Bank) before the end of the Knesset summer session", which concludes on July 27.

The ministers argued that the current "strategic partnership and backing and support of the US and President Donald Trump create a favourable time to lead this move (annexation) now".

SOURCE:TRT World
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