Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has unveiled a plan for post-conflict Gaza that drew criticism from key ally the United States and was rejected by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, AFP reports.
The new plan came after airstrikes 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-crisis Gaza being run by Palestinian officials without links to Hamas. It also lays out that, even after the conflict, the Israeli army would have “indefinite freedom” to operate throughout Gaza to prevent any resurgence of terror activity, according to the proposals.
The plan was swiftly rejected by the Palestinian Authority and drew criticism from the United States. US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Washington had been “consistently clear with our Israeli counterparts” about what was needed in post-conflict Gaza.
“The Palestinian people should have a voice and a vote… through a revitalised Palestinian Authority,” he said. “We don’t believe in a reduction of the size of Gaza… we don’t want to see any forcible displacement of Palestinians outside Gaza and, of course, we don’t want to see Gaza dominated or ruled or governed over by Hamas.”
Asked about the plan during a visit to Argentina, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he would “reserve judgement” until seeing all the details, but said Washington was against any “reoccupation” of Gaza after the Israeli offensive. Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan dismissed Netanyahu’s plan as unworkable.
