Blinken Sees Roles for Many in Post-War Gaza, Except for Israel

Secretary Blinken, during his last week in office, seems eager to impose his vision of post-war Gaza on Israel — and also on his successor at the Department of State. Speaking to the Atlantic Council, Mr. Blinken on Tuesday detailed an elaborate scheme to rebuild Gaza, one that included many provisions opposed by the government of Prime Minister Netanyahu. The plan envisions roles for a “reformed” Palestinian Authority, for Arab countries, for the United Nations, and for others — but notably not for Israel.“We must ensure that Hamas is unable to rule the Gaza Strip and that the Palestinian Authority, after its reform, takes over the rule of the Strip,” Mr. Blinken said. “Israelis must abandon the myth that they can carry out de facto annexation” of Gaza. The outgoing secretary insisted that no Arab state would participate in a Gaza reclamation project unless it includes guarantees for a future Palestinian state. He said the establishment of such a state would be a blow to Hamas’s agenda rather than a “reward” for the terror organization’s attack of October 7, 2023, as some Israelis insist it would be.Mr. Blinken said his post-war plan must be approved by the UN Security Council, and that a UN official would be charged with overseeing implementation in the first stages. “We’ve long made the point to the Israeli government that Hamas cannot be defeated by a military campaign alone, that without a clear alternative, a post-conflict plan and a credible political rise to the Palestinians, Hamas, or something just as dangerous will grow back,” Mr. Blinken said. President-elect Trump’s nominee or defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, had a different idea, though. “I support Israel destroying and killing every last member of Hamas,” he said during his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday. President Biden, in an attempt to polish his foreign policy record Monday, differentiated his policies with Trump’s. On Tuesday, Mr. Biden piled on, announcing plans to delist Cuba as a terrorist state. Yet, envoys from both the outgoing and the incoming administrations are now scrambling to finalize a complex deal to release 98 hostages held in Gaza and eventually end the war. As yet, the Hamas leadership in Gaza seems to be holding up the agreement. “We await final word from Hamas on its acceptance, and until we get that word, we’ll remain on the brink,” Mr. Blinken said in his Tuesday speech. An unidentified Hamas official told Reuters that the terror group would give its reply only after Israel submits maps detailing its withdrawal from Gaza. After months of stalemate, though, the negotiations at Doha over a deal seem to have accelerated, prompted by several Israeli military actions and by Trump’s election victory in November. Since last October, Israel has eliminated the Hezbollah leadership and much of its formidable arsenal, which Hamas had banked on to assist in its Gaza war. Israel also destroyed the vast majority of Iran’s air defenses, and the Assad regime in Syria collapsed. At Washington, meanwhile, Trump vowed “hell” would be visited on the Mideast if hostages are not released by the time he is inaugurated. Dynamics at the Doha talks shifted when Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, joined Mr. Biden’s envoy, Brett McGurk. Ha’aretz reported on Monday that when Mr. Witkoff asked for a meeting with Mr. Netanyahu on Saturday, the premier asked to postpone the session until the end of the Sabbath, per Israeli protocol. Only when Mr. Witkof erupted and used “salty language” did Mr. Netanyahu relent and receive him at his Jerusalem office. A political storm erupted Monday when a right-wing member of Mr. Netanayhu’s coalition, Itamar Ben Gvir, said that only his threats to bolt the ruling coalition had prevented the premier from signing a war-ending deal earlier. A government official countered that it was Hamas, rather than Mr. Ben Gvir, that has blocked completion of all agreements to release hostages. On Tuesday Mr. Netanyahu conducted several meetings with groups of hostage families. One parent reportedly asked why the premier is willing to now finalize a deal that was essentially on the table for months. “Under the Trump administration we’ll have stronger support,” Mr. Netanyahu reportedly said. “With the incoming administration we will have additional opportunities.”Mr. Netanyahu’s envoys have met with Trump and his aides in recent months to coordinate policies on countering Iran’s nuclear weapons and promoting new Mideast pacts. Both sides are reportedly eager to finalize the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Mr. Blinken stressed in his Tuesday address that a path to a Palestinian state must be established before any Arab state, including Saudi Arabia, would agree to peace with Israel. The Abraham accords — which included Israeli peace pacts with Saudi allies such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain — were signed during Trump’s first presidential term even as no such path was established.

Blinken Sees Roles for Many in Post-War Gaza, Except for Israel

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