American officials expressed on Tuesday that the United States refuses to build a permanent Israeli military base in the Gaza Strip, the day after a report published by the New York Times that the Israeli army is in the process of accelerating the work of building military facilities in the Strip.
Based on satellite images, the New York Times said that it observed in the central Gaza Strip an acceleration in the construction of this base in parallel with the demolition of more than 600 buildings in the area, which indicates that the Israeli army plans to remain in the Strip for a long time.
Commenting on this report, Vedant Patel, deputy spokesman for the US State Department, said that the United States cannot confirm this information, noting at the same time that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had expressed since the beginning of the war between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) more than A year ago, he expressed his opposition to any permanent Israeli presence in Gaza.
Patel said during a press conference that if the New York Times information “is correct, then this matter certainly contradicts a number of principles outlined by Secretary Blinken.”
He added, “There cannot be a reduction of territory in Gaza. Moreover, there cannot be a forced displacement of Palestinians from their homes.”
For his part, spokesman for the US Department of Defense (Pentagon), General Pat Ryder, announced that the US position is that “Israel should not continue to occupy Gaza once a ceasefire is reached and after the threat posed by Hamas is eliminated.”
He added, “We will continue to consult with our Israeli partners on this issue, but what is most important is achieving a ceasefire, releasing the hostages, and ending this terrible conflict.”
The New York Times quoted an Israeli army spokesman as saying that the ongoing construction has an operational goal, stressing that any building can be quickly dismantled.
