In a rare simultaneous public statement, the heads of the foreign intelligence services of the United States and Great Britain stated on Saturday that they are “working ceaselessly” for a truce in Gaza.
MI6 Chief Richard Moore and Director of the CIA William Burns said that their organizations had “exploited our intelligence channels to push hard for restraint and de-escalation.”
The two spymasters stated that a truce in Israel’s conflict with Hamas “could end the suffering and appalling loss of life of Palestinian civilians and bring home the hostages after 11 months of hellish confinement” in an opinion article for the Financial Times.
In August, Burns went to Egypt for high-level negotiations intended to bring about a hostage agreement and, at the very least, a temporary halt to the fighting. Burns has been actively involved in attempts to mediate an end to the hostilities.
Although there hasn’t been a deal as of yet, US officials maintain that one is imminent. “Just a couple more issues” need to be settled, according to US President Joe Biden’s recent remarks. Reports of a breakthrough, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are “exactly inaccurate.”
Both the United States and the United Kingdom are ardent supporters of Israel; nevertheless, London deviated from Washington on Monday by halting certain military sales to Israel due to concerns that the weapons could be misused to violate international law.
The transatlantic partnership is strong in the face of “an unprecedented array of threats,” according to Burns and Moore. These concerns include an assertive Russia, a growingly powerful China, and the ongoing threat of international terrorism, all of which are made more difficult by the speed at which technology is developing.
They emphasized Russia’s “cynical use of technology to spread lies and disinformation designed to drive wedges between us” as well as its “reckless campaign of sabotage” throughout Europe.
US officials have long accused Moscow of interfering in US elections.
This week, the Biden administration took control of websites controlled by the Kremlin and accused Russian broadcaster RT employees of surreptitiously funding social media campaigns to spread misinformation about November’s presidential election and promote the Kremlin.
