US Secretary of State lists “key elements” to create “lasting peace and security” after Israeli war in Gaza.
Gaza cannot be ruled by either Israel or Hamas once the ongoing conflict ends, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, reiterating the White House’s position.
Speaking to reporters after G7 foreign ministers’ talks in Japan on Wednesday, Blinken listed the “key elements” needed to create “lasting peace and security,” with the United States appearing eager to open a conversation on post-conflict scenarios.
There should be “no forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, either now or after the war; no use of Gaza as a platform for terrorism or other violent attacks; no reoccupation of Gaza after the end of the conflict,” he stressed.
The US official also warned against an “attempted blockade or siege of Gaza” or any “reduction of Gaza territory”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested Monday that Israel would take control of security in Gaza after the war.
However, U.S. officials said the next day that President Joe Biden did not support “a reoccupation by Israeli forces.”
Blinken doubled down on this message. He also reiterated Washington’s view that Gaza could not be ruled by Hamas, the group that currently rules the enclave.
“It just invites a repeat of October 7,” he said, referring to the group’s deadly attack on Israel that sparked the retaliatory bombing of Gaza that killed more than 10,000 people in the Palestinian territory. .
“Now the reality is that a transition period may be necessary at the end of the conflict… We are not seeing reoccupation and what I have heard from Israeli leaders is that they are not “They have no intention of reoccupying Gaza,” he added.
“Palestinian affair”
On Tuesday, Hamas said in response to US statements that it could not be part of the ruling equation in the Gaza Strip and that governance of the enclave was a “pure Palestinian affair”.
“Governing Gaza or part of our territory is a Palestinian affair, and no force will be able to change reality or impose its will,” said Hamas spokesman Abdul-Latif al-Qanou.
“Hamas is a national liberation movement and is present in every Palestinian home,” al-Qanou said. “Hamas is an integral part of our people and has the right to resist the occupation in accordance with all laws and customs.”