LAST UPDATE | 23 Feb
US SECRETARY OF State Antony Blinken has 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 comments came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed a plan for post-war Gaza that envisions local Palestinian officials without links to Hamas or its foreign backers governing the territory.
The proposal, rejected by Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, was submitted to Netanyahu’s security cabinet last night and would also see the Israeli army persisting in its assault on Hamas until it achieves key goals.
Those include dismantling Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and securing the release of all hostages still held captive in Gaza, according to the proposals, which were seen by AFP today.
After the offensive ends, Gaza’s civil affairs would be run by “local officials with administrative experience” and who are “not linked to countries or entities that support terrorism”.
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 plan.
“The plan states that Israel will move forward with its already-in-motion project to establish a security buffer zone on the Palestinian side of the strip’s border,” it said, adding the zone would remain “as long as there is a security need for it”.
Speaking in Buenos Aires today, after attending a G20 meeting of foreign ministers in Brazil, Blinken said Gaza “cannot be a platform for terrorism”.
“There should be no Israeli reoccupation of Gaza. The size of Gaza territory should not be reduced,” Blinken said.
He added that the plan indicates that Netanyahu “absolutely refuses to recognise a Palestinian state” and “insists on separating the West Bank and Gaza, Jerusalem and the West Bank”.
“This means that this entity’s (Israel’s) real plan is to seize Palestinian lands and fragment them,” Hamdan said.
29,514 have been killed since the Israeli siege, bombardment and assault on Gaza began last October, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
More than four months of fighting and bombardment have flattened much of Gaza and pushed its population of around 2.4 million to the brink of famine as disease spreads, according to the United Nations.
The United Nations said today that gross human rights violations, possibly including war crimes, had been committed in Israel and the Palestinian territories since the start of the conflict in Gaza.
In its annual report, covering the 12 months up to 31 October 2023, the UN Human Rights Office said clear violations of international humanitarian law, “including possible war crimes, have been committed by all parties” since 7 October.
“The entrenched impunity reported by our office for decades cannot be permitted to continue,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, who called on all sides to investigate reported crimes.
“There must be accountability on all sides for violations seen over 56 years of (Israeli) occupation and the 16 years of blockade of Gaza.”
“Justice is a pre-requisite for ending cycles of violence and for Palestinians and Israelis to be able to take meaningful steps towards peace.”
The report criticised the Al Qassam Brigade – the armed wing of Hamas – for “serious violations of international law on a wide scale on 7 and 8 October”, including attacks against civilians and hostage taking.
Israel’s conduct in its retaliatory assault on the Gaza Strip was also criticised.
The report said that Israel’s campaign has led to “massive suffering” in Palestine and has included “the killing of civilians on a broad scale, extensive, repeated displacement, destruction of homes, and the denial of sufficient food and other essentials of life”.
“Clear violations of international law have been committed,” the report said.
Israel’s restriction of food and other supplies entering Gaza “raised the spectres of famine, dehydration, and the spread of disease”, the report added.
“The blockade and siege imposed on Gaza amount to collective punishment and may also amount to the use of starvation as a method of war, which are war crimes,” it said.
Negotiations over the potential exchange of detainees have continued this week.
Brett McGurk, White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, held talks this week with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in Tel Aviv, after meeting with other mediators in Cairo.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was in the Egyptian capital for truce talks earlier in the week, the group said.
A Hamas source said the new plan proposes a six-week pause in the conflict and the release of between 200 and 300 Palestinian prisoners, in exchange for 35 to 40 hostages still held by Hamas.
Israeli media reported today that Mossad director David Barnea would be joined by Ronen Bar, chief of the Shin Bet domestic security agency, for the Paris discussions.
Barnea and his US counterpart from the CIA helped broker a week-long truce in November that saw the release of 80 Israeli hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Washington’s National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told journalists that so far the discussions were “going well”, while Benny Gantz from Israel’s war cabinet spoke of “the first signs that indicate the possibility of progress”.
With reporting from Hayley Halpin and AFP
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