Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that Israel will not support a government led by the Palestinian Authority in Gaza after it completes a war to eliminate Hamas in the Strip, in violation of pressure exerted by the United States.
The Biden administration has repeatedly stressed that Israel must not “reoccupy” Gaza at the end of the conflict, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying this week that the Palestinian Authority — which runs the West Bank government — should take control.
Netanyahu He said On Saturday, Israel said that Israel would maintain “comprehensive security control” in Gaza, “including the ability to enter whenever we want to eliminate terrorists who may emerge again.”
“I will tell you what it will not be,” he said: “There will be no Hamas.” There will also be no civil authority that teaches its children to hate Israel, kill Israelis, and eliminate the State of Israel. There cannot be an authority that pays the families of the killers. [amounts] “Based on the number killed.”
He added: “There cannot be an authority whose leader has not yet condemned the terrible massacre 30 days after it occurred,” referring to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. “This cannot be.”
Netanyahu’s comments in recent days about “indefinite” military control of Gaza after the war have raised concerns in Washington, where Americans fear a new occupation could destabilize the Middle East.
Israel previously occupied Gaza from 1967 to 1996 and subsequently imposed strict restrictions on the Strip across its border, leading some academics to argue that the occupation never ended.
In a conversation with the Sultan of Oman on Friday, President Biden He stressed the importance Forming an independent Palestinian government and state, emphasizing that outcome as an essential part of the US administration’s strategy in the Middle East.
Netanyahu did not mention a proposal to form a new government after the war in Gaza, which implicitly indicates that Israeli control of the Strip is a red line in US-Israeli relations.
“There must be something else there. But in any case, we must have security control.” “I insist. There may be pressure on this issue. “I don’t intend to cave.”
The Israeli army is in the midst of a ground invasion of northern Gaza amid its war with Hamas, and has blockaded Gaza City, the largest settlement.
The war has killed an estimated 11,000 Palestinians, including more than 4,000 children, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health.
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