The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, urged Israel not to reoccupy Gaza once its conflict with Hamas ended.
Blinken, speaking to reporters after the G7 foreign ministers met in Japan on Wednesday, described what he called the “key elements” in order to create “durable peace and security.”
“The United States believes key elements should include: no forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, not now, not after the war; No use of Gaza as a platform for terrorism or other violent attacks; No reoccupation of Gaza after the conflict ends,” Blinken told reporters.
He further stated that other conditions included no “attempt to blockade or besiege Gaza” or any “reduction in the territory of Gaza.”
In the same vein, the US on Tuesday opposed Israel’s planned long-term occupation of the Gaza Strip, to which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised “overall security” of the territory following the war.
“Our viewpoint is that Palestinians must be at the forefront of these decisions, and Gaza is Palestinian land and it will remain Palestinian land,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
“Generally speaking, we do not support the reoccupation of Gaza, and neither does Israel,” Patel stated.
