US national security advisor signals possible breakthrough in Gaza ceasefire negotiations

(13 Dec 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

++CLIENTS PLEASE NOTE THE LOCATION IS TEL AVIV DESPITE THE BANNER BEHIND SULLIVAN READING JERUSALEM++

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tel Aviv, Israel - 12 December 2024
1. Wide of news conference
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Jake Sullivan, US national security advisor:
"There are any number of reasons for why contexts change in negotiations, especially in a situation as fluid as this. But I would point out that Hamas' posture at the negotiating table did adapt following the announcement of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. Why is that? It's because for months, we believe Hamas was waiting for lots of other actors and forces to come to their rescue, to come to their aid. And when we got that ceasefire, it was clear that the northern front had been decoupled from Gaza and from that moment forward, we've had a different character to the negotiation and we believe that it puts us in a position to be able to close this negotiation."
++WHITE FLASH++
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Jake Sullivan, US national security advisor:
"The balance of power in the Middle East has changed significantly and not in a way that Sinwar or Nasrallah or Iran had planned. We are now faced with a dramatically reshaped Middle East in which Israel is stronger, Iran is weaker, its proxies decimated, and a ceasefire that is new and will be lasting in Lebanon that ensures Israel's security over the long term."
++ENDS ON A SOUNDBITE++
STORYLINE:
Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden's national security advisor, told reporters in Tel Aviv on Thursday that Israel's ceasefire in Lebanon has helped clear the way for another deal to end the war in Gaza.

He plans to travel next to Doha and Cairo as the Biden administration makes a final push on negotiations before Donald Trump is inaugurated.

Sullivan said "Hamas' posture at the negotiating table did adapt" after Israel decimated the leadership of its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon and reached a ceasefire there.

"We believe it puts us in a position to close this negotiation," he said.

Sullivan dismissed speculation that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was waiting for Trump to take office to finalize a deal.

He also said "the balance of power in the Middle East has changed significantly" since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel, especially with the overthrow of the Assad regime in Syria.

"We are now faced with a dramatically reshaped Middle East in which Israel is stronger, Iran is weaker, its proxies decimated, and a ceasefire that is new and will be lasting in Lebanon that ensures Israel's security over the long term," he said.

AP video shot by Ami Bentov

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