The head of the CIA, who is also the chief US negotiator for an end to the Gaza war and release of hostages held by Hamas, said a more detailed ceasefire proposal would be made in the next several days.

After 11 months of conflict in Gaza, CIA Director William Burns said he was working very hard on “texts and creative formulas” with mediators Qatar and Egypt to secure a ceasefire, by finding a proposal which satisfies both parties.

“We will make this more detailed proposal, I hope in the next several days, and then we’ll see,” said Burns, speaking at a Financial Times event in London alongside Richard Moore, head of Britain’s MI6 foreign spy agency, in an unprecedented joint public appearance.

Burns added that it was a question of political will and he hoped leaders on both sides recognized “the time has come finally to make some hard choices and some difficult compromises.”

He said 90% of the paragraphs had been agreed but the last 10% were always the hardest.

“My hope is that you know, they’ll recognize what’s at stake here and be willing to move ahead on that basis,” he said.

Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7 killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.

BACKING UKRAINE

In an joint op-ed for Saturday’s FT newspaper, Burns and Moore highlighted joint efforts to help Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the British spy chief said it was critical the West maintained its support.

Discussing Ukraine’s offensive into the Kursk region of Russia where Kyiv has seized land, Moore called it an “audacious and bold” move to try and change the game.

“It’s too early to say how long the Ukrainians will be able to hang on in there (in Kursk),” he added, saying the incursion had brought the war home to ordinary Russians.

While Burns called the offensive a “significant tactical achievement” for the Ukrainians. But while he said it had exposed the Russian military’s vulnerabilities, he did not see any evidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power was weakening.

“It did raise questions on the part of people we could see across the Russian elite about where is this all headed,” he said.

Burns also disclosed that earlier in the conflict he had been sent by US President Joe Biden to meet one of his Russian counterparts to warn him of the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons.

“There was a moment in the fall of 2022 when I think there was a genuine risk of the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons,” the CIA director said. “We’ve continued to be very direct about that. So I don’t think we can afford to be intimidated by that saber rattling or bullying.”

In their op-ed, the spy chiefs also warned about a reckless campaign of sabotage being waged across Europe by Russian intelligence operatives.

“I think Russian intelligence services has gone a bit feral, frankly, in some of their behavior,” Moore said. “The fact that they are using criminal elements shows you that they’re becoming a bit desperate … It’s become a bit more amateurish.”

He added: “Amateurish can actually be more reckless and more dangerous as well.”

The post CIA Director Says More Detailed Gaza Ceasefire Proposal Due in Days first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to travel to the United Kingdom on Monday, the State Department said, a week after Britain suspended some arms export licenses with Israel over equipment that could be used in the war in Gaza.

In the trip slated to go through Tuesday, Blinken will open the US-UK Strategic Dialogue, “reaffirming our special relationship,” Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesperson, said on Saturday.

Blinken will also meet with senior government officials to discuss issues including the Indo-Pacific, the AUKUS defense pact between the US, Australia, Britain and the Middle East, and collective efforts to support Ukraine in the war against Russia.

Britain said on Sept. 2 it was immediately suspending 30 of its 350 arms export licenses with Israel, saying there was a risk such equipment might be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law in Israel’s war with Hamas in the densely populated Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

The administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running to succeed him, is under pressure from critics of the war to suspend some arms deliveries to Israel, Washington’s closest Middle East ally. A US official said in July the Biden administration would resume shipping 500-pound bombs to Israel but would continue to hold back on supplying 2,000-poind bombs over concerns about their use in Gaza.

CIA Director William Burns, chief US negotiator for an end to the war in Gaza, said in London on Saturday that a more detailed ceasefire proposal would be made in the coming days.

The post Blinken to Travel to UK Monday to Discuss Middle East, Ukraine first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

The Jewish Colonial Trust was established on March 20, 1899. The first Zionist bank was the brainchild of Theodor Herzl who understood that funding would be required to make his vision of a Jewish homeland a reality. Each share cost one English pound, the equivalent of $280 today. (Herzl bought the first 1,000 shares which was a […]

The post Treasure Trove: If you own a share like this, Israel could owe you some money first appeared on The Canadian Jewish News.

The post Treasure Trove: If you own a share like this, Israel could owe you some money appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.