Palestinians flee the Gaza Strip south holding white flags AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman
Israel has no intention of reoccupying the Gaza Strip or bringing it under its control “for a long time,” a senior Israeli official said, responding to US warnings that came after Netanyahu said his country would take “shared responsibility for security.” in Gaza for an indefinite period after the end of the war.
Yesterday, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that “Israel cannot occupy Gaza” today (8/11). In response to the warnings, an Israeli official speaking to reporters in Washington late Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “We assess that our current operations are effective and successful, and we will continue to advance.” “It won’t be endless or forever”he added.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that “it is clear that Israel cannot occupy Gaza” but “there may be a need for some transition period after the end of the conflict” between Israel and Hamas.
Mention of “transition period” came in response to the words of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who earlier this week said that after the end of the war with Hamas, Israel will bear the responsibility “shared responsibility for security in Gaza” during “for an indefinite period of time.”
Blinken said he had heard from Israeli officials that they have “no intention of reoccupying Gaza or maintaining control of the area.” He repeated US conditions for establishing “durable peace and security” in Gaza after the end of the war, stressing that its territory would not be reduced or occupied.
“It is necessary for the Palestinian people to take control of Gaza, as well as the West Bank,” – Blinken said at a press conference after a meeting of foreign ministers “Big Seven” in Tokyo. “The only question is whether there is any need for a transition period. And what might be the mechanisms that you could create to ensure security. But we are very clear that there will be no re-occupation, just as we are very clear that that there will be no displacement of the Palestinian population”– he said.
“As we have said in the past, we need to consider and achieve, essentially, unity of governance when it comes to Gaza and the West Bank and ultimately a Palestinian state.” – Antony Blinken added.
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