Israel reiterates its claim to expand its military influence in the Gaza Strip
Sullivan emphasizes four principles, including no reoccupation by Israel
On the 12th (local time), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a statement that again seemed to rule out the idea of the Palestinian Authority (PA) ruling the Gaza Strip after the war.
Prime Minister Netanyahu appeared to rule out handing over governance of the Gaza Strip to the PA, saying, “The Palestinian Authority failed to demilitarize and deradicalize the Gaza Strip in the past,” when asked about his plans for the Gaza Strip after the war in a CNN interview that day.
Prime Minister Netanyahu presented the goals of Israel’s Gaza operation as follows: destroying Hamas, overwhelmingly expanding the influence of the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip, and demilitarizing and deradicalizing the civilian authorities governing the Gaza Strip.
He said, “The top priority is to destroy Hamas to prevent attacks like the one on the 7th of last month,” and added, “We must also overwhelmingly expand the influence of the Israeli military to prevent terrorist attacks from occurring in the Gaza Strip after the war.”
“The civilian authorities in control of the Gaza Strip must agree to demilitarize and deradicalize the area,” he said, adding that the PA has failed to do both in the past.
He again rejected a ceasefire or a humanitarian pause in fighting.
Prime Minister Netanyahu responded to a related question by saying, “It is not a pause. “If you are asking to stop the fighting, that is exactly what Hamas wants.” At the same time, he reiterated that he would not agree to a ceasefire for the entire Gaza Strip until all hostages were released.
Regarding the release of hostages, he said, “We are doing everything we can 24 hours a day,” but added, “We cannot reveal specific details.”
When asked whether he would take responsibility for the deaths of more than 1,200 Israelis in a surprise attack by Hamas on the 7th of last month, he avoided a direct answer, saying, “Now is the time to unite for victory, and that is my responsibility.” He then said that there would be time to ask such ‘difficult’ questions once the war was over.
Meanwhile, the United States is making clear its position that the Gaza Strip should be ruled by Palestinians after the war.
U.S. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan cited U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken’s remarks last week in an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation” on this day, saying that the basic principles of the U.S. are ▲ no reoccupation of the Gaza Strip by Israel, ▲ forced migration of Palestinians. It was suggested that ▲it cannot be used as a terrorist base in the Gaza Strip in the future, and ▲the territory of the Gaza Strip cannot be reduced.
“We ultimately want to see the West Bank and Gaza reconnected and control unified under Palestinian leadership,” he said. “The PA is the current leadership in the West Bank. But ultimately, they will decide the future of Palestine and who will rule, and the United States will support that process.”
On the 6th, Prime Minister Netanahu mentioned ‘security control’ and hinted at the reoccupation of the Gaza Strip, leading to growing controversy. He also emphasized on the 11th, “Under no circumstances can we give up security control there.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.