US opposes ‘reoccupation’ of Gaza after Netanyahu talks of ‘indefinite’ control
After war, Blinken seeks ‘Gaza unified with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority,’ no use of Gaza as a platform for terrorism, no blockade or reduction in Gaza’s territory
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday called on Israel not to reoccupy the Gaza Strip once its war with Hamas ends.
His remarks came amid a flurry of statements from Washington officials against such a scenario after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel will have “indefinite” overall security control of the Palestinian enclave once it has destroyed Hamas and removed it from power.
War erupted on October 7 when hordes of Hamas terrorists from Gaza invaded Israel, massacring over 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and abducting at least 240 men, women, and children, who are being held captive in Gaza. The attack came under the cover of thousands of rockets fired at Israeli population centers. Israel has responded with a military campaign while vowing to eradicate Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007.
Speaking to reporters after G7 foreign ministers held talks in Japan, Blinken listed what he said was needed in order to create “durable peace and security.”
“The United States believes key elements should include: no forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, not now, not after the war; no use of Gaza as a platform for terrorism or other violent attacks; no reoccupation of Gaza after the conflict ends,” Blinken said.
He said other conditions included no “attempt to blockade or besiege Gaza” or any “reduction in the territory of Gaza.”
It appeared to be the first time that a US official had publicly made these two points after long avoiding any criticism of Israel’s blockade of Gaza, which Jerusalem says is necessary to prevent the smuggling of weapons into the Strip. Human rights groups say the policy has stymied the enclave’s economy significantly.
The call for Israel not to take over Gaza territory after the war also flies in the face of comments by Israeli officials, including Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who have indicated that the IDF will have to establish some sort of buffer zone within the Strip to better secure the border.
“We must also ensure no terrorist threats emerge from the West Bank,” Blinken added.
What Gaza should have is “Palestinian governance, Gaza unified with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority… a sustained mechanism for reconstruction in Gaza, and a pathway” to a two-state solution, he said.
Asked about Netanyahu’s comments on Israel assuming security responsibility in Gaza indefinitely, Blinken allowed that “there may be a need for some transition period.”
EXCLUSIVE: @DavidMuir interviews Israeli PM Netanyahu, pressing him on the Biden administration’s calls for a humanitarian pause in Gaza as the death toll climbs; if he bears responsibility for intelligence failures on Oct. 7; and more. https://t.co/zjSKIi5FJF pic.twitter.com/LydTy5XtZf
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) November 7, 2023
The Israel Defense Forces, alongside intensive airstrikes on Hamas’s terror infrastructure, has pressed forward with a forceful ground incursion in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
Israel has vowed to remove Hamas from power and crush its military capabilities — but neither Israel nor its main ally, the United States, has said what would come next. Officials in the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority have repeatedly said they will not take responsibility for Gaza unless it is part of a broader peace agreement that includes the West Bank and paves the way to statehood.
Netanyahu told ABC News that Gaza should be governed by “those who don’t want to continue the way of Hamas,” without elaborating.
“I think Israel will, for an indefinite period, will have the overall security responsibility because we’ve seen what happens when we don’t have it. When we don’t have that security responsibility, what we have is the eruption of Hamas terror on a scale that we couldn’t imagine,” he said.
Netanyahu did not make clear what shape that security control would take. He dismissed suggestions there was any daylight between him and US President Joe Biden regarding the war, saying he agreed with the US call for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza and was coordinating with Washington on the issue. Last month Biden said it would be a “big mistake” for Israel to reoccupy Gaza.
The White House reiterated Tuesday that Biden, who made a one-day solidarity visit last month, does not support an Israeli reoccupation of the Gaza Strip after the war.
“President Biden’s been very clear we don’t support a reoccupation of Gaza by the Israeli Defense Forces,” said White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby, adding that he would leave it to Netanyahu to clarify what he means by “indefinite.”
“We do think that there needs to be a healthy set of conversations about what post-conflict Gaza looks like and what governance looks like,” he continued.
“What we absolutely agree with our Israeli counterparts on is what it can’t look like. And it can’t look like it looked on October 6th,” Kirby said.
Regarding civilian casualties, Kirby said Washington is “continuing to stress to our Israeli counterparts that they be as discriminate and careful in their targeting as possible.
During his television interview, Netanyahu said Israel is prepared to allow “tactical little pauses” for humanitarian reasons, which Kirby told reporters is “in keeping with the conversations that we’ve been having.”
US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel also told reporters, “Our viewpoint is that Palestinians must be at the forefront of these decisions and Gaza is Palestinian land and it will remain Palestinian land.”
“Generally speaking, we do not support the reoccupation of Gaza and neither does Israel,” he said.
Patel said that the United States agrees “there is no returning to the October 6 status quo,” referring to the day before Hamas’s massive onslaught.
“Israel and the region must be secure and Gaza should and can no longer be a base from which to launch terror attacks against the people of Israel or anyone else,” Patel said.
Israeli officials say the offensive against Hamas will last for some time and acknowledge that they have not yet formulated a concrete plan for what comes after the war. The defense minister has said Israel does not seek a long-term reoccupation of Gaza but predicted a lengthy phase of low-intensity fighting against “pockets of resistance.” Other officials have spoken about establishing a buffer zone that would keep Palestinians away from the Israeli border.
“There are a number of options being discussed for The Day After Hamas,” said Ophir Falk, a senior adviser to Netanyahu. “The common denominator of all the plans is that 1) there is no Hamas 2) that Gaza is demilitarized 3) Gaza is de-radicalized.”
The Hamas-run health ministry claims that more than 10,300 Gazans have been killed since the start of the war, a figure that cannot be independently verified and includes Hamas terror operatives and those killed by failed Palestinian rocket launches at Israel. Hamas has been accused of artificially inflating the death toll, and does not distinguish between civilians and terror operatives.
Israel withdrew troops and settlers in 2005 but kept control over Gaza’s airspace, coastline, population registry and border crossings, excepting one into Egypt. Hamas seized power from forces loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007. Since then, Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on Gaza to varying degrees.
Since Israel withdrew its military and evacuated its settlements in Gaza nearly two decades ago, it has faced frequent bouts of rocket attacks from the Strip as well as the threat of offensive attack tunnels dug under the border. The rocket attacks, which began before the 2005 disengagement but have expanded significantly since, have sparked a number of extended Israeli military engagements against Hamas and other terror groups in the Strip.
