U.S National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has called for governorship of Gaza after the war to be handed over to Palestinians.
This came as he concluded his visit to Israel. His next stop is the occupied West Bank.
In a briefing prior to his departure from Israel, Sullivan outlined some post-war scenarios of the ongoing Israeli-Hamas war.
He asserted that the Israeli government indicated that it does not have long-term plans to “occupy” Gaza.
“The control of Gaza has to transition to Palestinians and there is a need to work through a timeline,” Sullivan said.
He added that the Palestinian Authority needs to be revamped and revitalised.
On the fighting in Gaza, Sullivan said that there will be a new phase in the war focused on targeting Hamas leadership.
He disclosed that he had valuable discussions in Israel about moving to a less-intense military operation.
“We agree with Israel that the fighting will take months, but in different stages,” he said.
“We are working to release the remaining Israeli captives in Gaza,” he added.
The office of the Israeli Prime Minister noted in a statement that the head of Israel’s intelligence agency, David Barnea, met Sullivan at the Mossad’s headquarters.
The two discussed “broad strategic issues,” including the “threat” posed by Iran, the need to build new ties in the region and cooperation between U.S and Israeli security agencies.
The issue of captives in Gaza was also discussed, the statement disclosed, with Barnea thanking the US for its “assistance on the matter.”
Meanwhile, Israeli media reported far-right Israeli Heritage Minister, Amihai Eliyahu as saying that Israel “should fully occupy” Gaza after the war.
“Anyone who is today selling the idea that [Palestinians] can go back to running things doesn’t remember what happened on [October 7],” Eliyahu reportedly added.
Israel removed settlements and withdrew its forces from inside Gaza in 2005 but maintains control of most of Gaza’s land, sea and air access.
No Faith In Sullivan’s Occupied Bank Visit
According to a reporter, residents of the Jenin refugee camp have “absolutely zero faith in any kind of real diplomatic effort” ahead of the meeting between US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
“As you can imagine, there is a lot of anti-American sentiment here because they blame America for supporting Israel so heavily,” he said from Jenin.
Stratford added that Abbas being “made to seem to be completely redundant here” has contributed to the lack of faith in his meeting with Sullivan.
“He is not a trusted source here amongst Palestinians or source of any potential political hope for any kind of solution,” he said.
Meanwhile, Professor opined that Americans do the talk but do nothing to pressure Israel.
Speaking with a news agency, Tamer Qarmout, assistant professor of public policy at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, asked, “Can the Americans pressure the Israelis to freeze and stop the settlement expansions immediately now until they sort out the entire mess in occupied Palestine?”
Qarmout said the US backing of the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank would give the entity “peace dividends,” encouraging Palestinians to support its potential governance in Gaza – but the chances of that happening are “zero”.
“What we have seen so far … Americans do the talk, but they do nothing to pressure Israel to change its political and military conduct. When it comes to the war in Gaza, they are fully committed behind Israel for eroding Hamas.”
Tamer Qarmout
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