BUENOS AIRES: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed Washington's opposition to any reoccupation of the Gaza Strip by Israel as well as any reduction of the Palestinian territory's size.
Blinken's remarks were in response to a plan for post-war Gaza put forward by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which his country's army would have "indefinite freedom" to operate throughout the Gaza Strip once Hamas is defeated.
"There should be no Israeli reoccupation of Gaza. The size of Gaza territory should not be reduced," Blinken said in Buenos Aires, after attending a G20 meeting of foreign ministers in Brazil.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has unveiled a plan for post-war Gaza that drew criticism and was rejected by the Palestinian Authority on Friday.
The new plan came after air strikes targeted homes in southern Gaza, and as an Israeli delegation arrived in Paris hoping to "unblock" truce discussions.
Netanyahu's plan envisages civil affairs in a post-war Gaza being run by Palestinian officials without links to Hamas.
It also lays out that, even after the war, the Israeli army would have "indefinite freedom" to operate throughout Gaza to prevent any resurgence of terror activity, according to the proposals.
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan dismissed Netanyahu's plan as unworkable.
"When it comes to the day after in the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu is presenting ideas which he knows fully well will never succeed," Hamdan told reporters in Beirut.
Blinken reaffirmed Washington's support for Israel's right to "self-defense" after a Thursday attack near a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, in which three Palestinians fired on vehicles, killing one and wounding eight.
Palestinians have complained of worsening Israeli-imposed restrictions in the West Bank since the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Palestinians.
Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for a "firm security response... and colonization" by building thousands of new housing units in settlements like Maale Adumim and across the West Bank. The US National Security Council spokesman said he was "disappointed with the announcement", adding: "This administration maintains... our firm opposition to settlement expansion."
Blinken said that "new settlements are counterproductive to reaching enduring peace, and also inconsistent with international law."
"Our administration maintains firm opposition to settlement expansion. In our judgment, this only weakens, it doesn't strengthen, Israel's security." — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
