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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Israel not to reoccupy Gaza once war with Hamas ends. His statement came on Wednesday, days after Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel could manage Gaza’s “security for an indefinite period” after the war.
Speaking to reporters after G7 foreign ministers held talks in Japan on Wednesday, Blinken told reporters that Gaza may need to have a transition period at the end of the war in terms of who runs it. “Gaza cannot continue to be run by Hamas. That simply invites a repetition of October 7,” Blinken said.
“Now, the reality is there may be a need for some transition period at the end of the conflict, but it is imperative that the Palestinian people be central to governance in Gaza and the West Bank as well. And again, we don’t see a reoccupation,” Blinken was quoted by Al Jazeera as saying.
Blinken, however, added, Israeli leaders have no intent to reoccupy Gaza and said the US seeks “unity of governance” between Gaza and the West Bank. “What I’ve heard from Israeli leaders is that they have no intent to reoccupy Gaza,” he said.
Earlier on Tuesday, CNN had reported National Security Council spokesman John Kirby as saying, “The president (Joe Biden) still believes that a reoccupation of Gaza by Israeli forces is not good. It’s not good for Israel; not good for the Israeli people.”
The US has been proving aide and “humanitarian assitance” to Israel and Gaza aid amid the ongoing war between Israeli forces and Palestinian military group Hamas. The latest warning from the White House came after Netanyahu told ABC News on Monday that Gaza should be governed by “those who don’t want to continue the way of Hamas”.
He added, “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.”
‘Humanitarian pauses’
On Wednesday, a group of G7 foreign ministers said they supported “humanitarian pauses and corridors” in the Israel-Hamas war but refrained from calling for a ceasefire.
“We stress the need for urgent action to address the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza… we support humanitarian pauses and corridors to facilitate urgently needed assistance, civilian movement, and the release of hostages,” the ministers said in a joint statement after talks in Japan
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Updated: 08 Nov 2023, 04:16 PM IST
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