Washington, November 9 (IANS). US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday it was “clear that Israel cannot capture Gaza” and that “some transition period may be needed to end the conflict” between Israel and Hamas.
Media reports said the top US diplomat phrased the US demand for a temporary ceasefire and “refusal” to annex Gaza as a “transition period” in response to comments by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who this week Initially it was said that Israel would have a “transition period”. Responsibility for overall security in Gaza will be assumed for an “indefinite period” after the war with Hamas ends.
“It is vital that the Palestinian people remain under the protection of the regime in Gaza and the West Bank as well, and we do not want to see a re-occupation,” Blinken said at a press conference after the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Tokyo.
Blinken also said he had heard from Israeli officials that “they have no intention of recapturing Gaza and maintaining control of Gaza”.
In what is believed to be a rebuttal to Netanyahu’s comments, Blinken laid out in clear terms America’s conditions for “durable peace and security” in Gaza after the war.
Blinken stressed that the region should not be subjugated or annexed.
–IANS
SGK
