Blinken: It’s ‘clear that Israel cannot occupy Gaza’

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that when Israel’s conflict with Hamas is over, it is “clear that Israel cannot occupy Gaza,” which Israel’s leader has suggested is a potential option.

Blinken, speaking in Tokyo, acknowledged “there may be a need for some transition period” when the war ends, “but it is imperative that the Palestinian people be central to governance in Gaza and in the West Bank as well, and that, again, we don’t see a reoccupation.”

“And what I’ve heard from Israeli leaders is that they have no intent to reoccupy Gaza and retake control of Gaza,” Blinken told reporters.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday, however, that Israel will take “overall security responsibility” in Gaza after the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.

“I think Israel will — for an indefinite period — will have the overall security responsibility, because we’ve seen what happens when we don’t have it,” Netanyahu told ABC News. “When we don’t have that security responsibility, what we have is the eruption of Hamas terror on a scale that we couldn’t imagine.”

Netanyahu also said there would be no “general” cease-fire without the release of hostages by Hamas but suggested he was open to allowing “little pauses” for the transport of humanitarian goods and to allow hostages.

President Biden and officials from the White House have been pushing for a “humanitarian pause” in the conflict. The pause has been described by the White House as a temporary, “localized” break in fighting to allow aid into Gaza or civilians to get out. 

Biden and Netanyahu discussed the idea of “tactical pauses” Monday, before the prime minister’s ABC interview.

“The two leaders discussed the possibility of tactical pauses to provide civilians with opportunities to safely depart from areas of ongoing fighting, to ensure assistance is reaching civilians in need, and to enable potential hostage releases,” the White House said in a readout of the call.