Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has admitted that he and President Biden disagree on the vision for Gaza once the war with Hamas ends.
While thanking the US for its continued support of Israel’s war effort, Netanyahu said on Monday night that he had an “intensive dialogue with President Biden” on Israel’s post-war plans in Gaza.
“Yes, there are disagreements about the ‘day after Hamas,’ and I hope we will reach an agreement here as well,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “I want to make my position clear: I will not allow Israel to repeat the mistakes of Oslo.”
The prime minister was referring to the failed Oslo Accords, the once groundbreaking ceasefire between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in the 1990s that ultimately failed and prompted terrorists to reject peace.
Netanyahu appears to be rejecting American calls for a reshuffled Palestinian Authority to take over Gaza once its current terrorist ruler, Hamas, has been defeated.
The PM, noting the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed more than 1,200 people in Israel, reiterated Monday that any semblance of a current Palestinian official has no place in leading Gaza’s future.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he disagrees with President Biden on Gaza after the war. Israel’s PA has said it must take responsibility for plans to “militarize” and “radicalize” the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by war. AFP via Getty Images The Biden administration has proposed that the Palestinian Authority help oversee the reconstruction of Gaza. via REUTERS
“It is impossible, after the great sacrifice of our people and fighters, that we will allow into Gaza those who teach terrorism, support terrorism, finance terrorism,” Netanyahu said. “Gaza will not be a Hamas-stan nor a Fatah-stan.”
Israel’s prime minister has repeatedly said he will not allow any foreign power to dictate the Jewish state’s plans to “militarize” and “radicalize” the Gaza Strip.
His comments came as the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly for another ceasefire, which Israel has refused to agree to. Last week, the US sided with Israel on the issue, vetoing a proposed measure in the UN Security Council.
Netanyahu also previously suggested that Israel should be the sole entity responsible for peace in Gaza and that it should maintain a security presence in the Palestinian enclave for an “indefinite period.”
But some Western powers did not give up pushing for some form of PA to take over once the war ended.
British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps visited Gaza and Israel last week and said British military personnel were advising the PA on how to prepare to retake and maintain control of Gaza after Hamas.
Finally, I thought of the solution [of who governs Gaza] is likely to be the Palestinian Authority, which needs to have a level of governance that requires a significant amount of international aid and support and we’re not there yet,” Shapps said, according to the UK Times.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid slammed Netanyahu’s comments on Monday, claiming the prime minister was more interested in retaining power than actually working toward a settlement with foreign allies, the Times of Israel reported.
“It is impossible to understand the level of disconnection and cynicism of the prime minister, who ran a vicious political campaign during the war, whose whole purpose was to absolve himself of responsibility, blame others and stir up hatred,” Lapid said.
Palestinians witness the destruction of their neighborhoods in central Gaza. ZUMAPRESS.com
Lapid also chastised Netanyahu for allegedly comparing Oslo to the October 7 terrorist attacks, with the prime minister reportedly claiming that the failed peace deal of the 90s caused as many deaths as the Hamas invasion.
Along with pressure from the US, Israel has also faced criticism from other global powers over the death toll in Gaza, which the Hamas-run Health Ministry estimates at more than 17,700.
The development comes as the Israel Defense Forces revealed on Tuesday that at least 13 of its soldiers killed so far in Gaza were killed in friendly fire — after being mistaken for Hamas. In total, 104 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the region.
Palestinians have seen even southern Gaza, a one-time safe zone, engulfed by the Israel-Hamas war. AFP via Getty Images
The Israeli military said 20 soldiers died in the accident: 13 from friendly fire, six from weapons-related or trampling incidents, and one from “irregular firing.”
So far, the war has claimed an unprecedented number of people in the decades of violence between Israel and Palestine.
It has also destroyed nearly a fifth of the buildings in the Gaza Strip, mostly in its northern part, the UN said on Tuesday after reviewing before-and-after satellite images of the region.
With the ongoing war across Gaza, the IDF added that it had been able to reclaim the bodies of two hostages held in the Palestinian enclave.
Residents in Rafah inspect the ruins left by Israeli bombing. AFP via Getty Images
Soldiers repatriated the bodies of Golani Brigade Warrant Officers Ziv Dado, 36, and Eden Zacharia, 28, who were abducted from the Nova festival on October 7, the IDF said in a statement Tuesday.
Dado was killed during the terrorist attack, but the IDF did not provide further details on how Zacharia died or whether he was killed on October 7 or while in custody.
Zacharia was last heard on a phone call with his father shouting that Hamas was shooting at festival-goers after storming the desert celebration site.
Israel estimates 137 hostages still remain in Gaza, including at least 20 bodies. The count will likely be updated with the retrieval of Dado and Zacharia’s bodies.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
