TEL AVIV   -   After a three-hour meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jerusalem on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put out a statement publicly backing the latest US “bridging proposal” that was presented to Israel and conveyed to Hamas at the end of talks in Doha last week. “The Prime Minister reiterated Israel’s commitment to the current American proposal on the release of our hostages, which takes into account Israel’s security needs, which he strongly insists on,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement issued in Hebrew and English. The statement marked the first time Netanyahu publicly endorsed the latest US formula. On Saturday, Israel had cautiously welcomed the new US proposal. The PMO put out a statement at the time saying the proposal “contains components that are acceptable to Israel.” Hamas rejected the US formula on Sunday night. In its statement, Hamas charged that Netanyahu “sets new conditions and demands” to thwart the talks and prolong the war in Gaza. Hamas group further claimed that the latest US-backed text was aligned with Israel’s demands. The proposal, designed by the US to enable the finalizing of a hostages-for-ceasefire deal by the end of this week, seeks to solve disagreements over the continued deployment of Israeli forces along the Gaza-Egypt border and in the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, among other sticking points.