Also in his media briefing, Antony Blinken, the U.S Secretary of State, pointed out the tendency of “some transition period” when the ongoing Israel-Hamas war ends.
Blinken asserted that Gaza “cannot be continued to be run by Hamas.”
“That simply invites repetition of 7 October, ” he noted, adding that “it is also clear that Israel cannot occupy Gaza.”
“Now, the reality is that 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 and what I’ve heard from Israeli leaders, is that they have no intent to reoccupy Gaza.”
Antony Blinken
British foreign secretary James Cleverly said “a move towards a peace-loving Palestinian leadership is the most desired outcome” of the current Israel-Hamas conflict.
Speaking after the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Tokyo, Cleverly was quoted as saying, “In the short term, it is inevitable that Israel, because they have the troops in Gaza, will need to have a security responsibility.”
“But our view is as soon as practicable, a move towards a peace-loving Palestinian leadership is the most desired outcome,” he added.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces launched deadly air raids across the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, hitting the vicinity of al-Shifa and Indonesian hospitals, as well as Khan Younis, Nuseirat and Jabalia refugee camps.
Predawn Israeli raids continued across the occupied West Bank. Several Palestinians, including two senior journalists, have been arrested in Hebron.
All bakeries in the north of Gaza have now shut down due to “lack of fuel, water and wheat flour” as well as damage from air raids.
“Palestinian Affair”
In response to statements that Hamas could not rule the Gaza Strip after the war, Abdul-Latif al-Qanou said that Gaza’s governance is a “pure Palestinian affair.”
Hamas is the group that currently rules the besieged enclave.
“Governing Gaza or part of our land is a Palestinian affair, and no force will be able to change reality or impose its will,” Hamas spokesman, Abdul-Latif al-Qanou said.
On Tuesday, White House national security spokesman, John Kirby, said Hamas could not be part of the governance equation in Gaza and “there needs to be a healthy set of conversations about what post-conflict Gaza looks like and what governance looks like.”
Al-Qanou termed Kirby’s call for ejecting Hamas as “pure imagination.”
“Hamas is a national liberation movement and resides in every Palestinian home. Hamas is an integral part of our people and has the right to resist the occupation in accordance with all laws and customs.”
Abdul-Latif al-Qanou
Former Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert stated that Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu is in a state of “nervous breakdown” following the October 7 security failure and is now miscalculating by preparing to take control of Gaza’s security for an “indefinite period” after the end of war.
This came as Netanyahu said days ago that Israel could manage Gaza’s security for an “indefinite period.”
“[Netanyahu] has shrunk. He’s destroyed emotionally, that’s for sure,” Olmert told a news agency, arguing that Netanyahu had now become a danger to Israel.
Olmert said that the goal should be to negotiate an endgame with the international community involving a return to talks on the creation of a Palestinian state.
“It’s not in Israel’s interests to oversee the security of Gaza. It is in our interests to be able to defend ourselves in a different way than we did before the October 7 attack. But to control Gaza again? No.”
Ehud Olmert
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