1/20/2024–|Last updated: 1/20/202402:36 AM (Mecca time)
On Friday, 60 Democratic representatives in the US House of Representatives urged Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to affirm the United States’ position strongly opposing the forced and permanent displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
In a letter, the representatives expressed their concern about the extremist rhetoric issued by Israeli officials and proposals from the Israeli government calling for the forced displacement of Palestinians outside Gaza.
The Israeli Ministers of Finance and National Security, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, had previously publicly called for the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, the reoccupation of the Strip, and the construction of settlements there.
Ben Gvir called for the return of settlers to Gaza after the end of the war, and for the displacement of the Palestinian population to countries that would accept them as refugees.
The official Israeli Broadcasting Authority also quoted Smotrich as saying, “More than 70% of the Israeli public supports a humanitarian solution to encourage the voluntary immigration of Gaza Arabs and their absorption in other countries.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in turn, said that he is working on the “voluntary migration” of Gazans, and is looking for countries that can host them, after putting forward a proposal to displace Gazans to the Egyptian Sinai at the beginning of the war.
The two-state solution
On the other hand, 16 Jewish members of the US House of Representatives – all from the Democratic Party – issued a statement in which they expressed their strong disagreement with Netanyahu’s recent statements regarding the future of the Palestinian state.
The representatives indicated that the two-state solution is the path forward.
Among the signatories of the statement are the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Jerry Nadler, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, Jamie Raskin, and Representative Adam Schiff.
It is noteworthy that Netanyahu said earlier Thursday that he informed the United States of his opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state “within the framework of any post-war scenario” in Gaza, contrary to the American desire.
Netanyahu added – during a press conference – that “in any future arrangement, Israel needs security control over all the lands west of the Jordan River.”
He noted that “the prime minister must be able to say ‘no’ to our friends,” referring to the United States.
Netanyahu’s statements came at a time when Washington called on Tel Aviv to reduce its attack on Gaza, stressing that the establishment of a Palestinian state must be part of the “day after” the war.