2023-11-08 16:41:56
In the USA’s view, peace in the Middle East conflict requires neither the expulsion of the Palestinians nor the renewed occupation of the Gaza Strip. Israel cannot permanently administer the Palestinian territory once more, but there might be a transition period following the end of the Gaza war, said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday in Tokyo at the end of the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting.
The prerequisites for “lasting peace and security” should include “that the Palestinians are not forcibly expelled from the Gaza Strip,” said Blinken – “not now, not following the war.” Blinken emphasized: “No reoccupation of the Gaza Strip following the end of the conflict “, no attempt to blockade or siege the Gaza Strip, no reduction of the area of Gaza”.
In addition, the Gaza Strip should not be used “as a platform for terrorism or other violent attacks,” said Blinken. “We must also ensure that no terrorist threats can come from the West Bank,” he added. Those who now called for an immediate ceasefire had a duty to explain how to deal with the fate of the hostages and Hamas’ declared intention to repeat October 7th.
Israel has repeatedly said that there is no going back to the time before the attack by the Islamist Hamas on October 7th, Blinken said. “We completely agree.” The United States is also working in the Middle East region to deter broader threats to partners and friends, he said, referring to those who want to exploit the crisis in Gaza for their own ends or spread it to other theaters.
According to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, something is “obviously wrong” with the Israeli military operation. This is shown by the number of civilians killed, said Guterres at the “Archyde.com Next” conference in New York. “If you look at the number of civilians killed in military operations, something is obviously wrong.” The number of children killed also indicates this. Every year, for all conflicts, this number is at most in the hundreds. “Thousands and thousands of children have been killed in the Gaza Strip in just a few days, which means that something is clearly wrong in the conduct of military operations too.” A distinction must be made between the radical Islamic Hamas and the Palestinian people.
Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter is calling on the Belgian government to impose sanctions once morest Israel and investigate the bombing of hospitals and refugee camps in Gaza. “It’s time for sanctions once morest Israel. The rain of bombs is inhumane,” De Sutter told the newspaper Nieuwsblad. It is clear that Israel does not care regarding international calls for a ceasefire. The European Union must immediately suspend the association agreement with Israel, which is aimed at better economic and political cooperation. Violent settlers, politicians and soldiers who are responsible for war crimes should be banned from entering the EU.
De Sutter also advocates a ban on imports of products from the occupied Palestinian territories. Belgium should also increase funding for the International Criminal Court in The Hague to investigate the bombings, while cutting off the flow of money to Hamas. “This is a terrorist organization. Terror costs money, and sanctions must be imposed on the companies and people who provide money to Hamas.”
The Israeli government has so far been vague regarding its long-term plans following defeating Hamas. In one of the first public comments, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel would assume security responsibility for the Gaza Strip for an indefinite period following the war. However, the government said Israel was not interested in ruling the area. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that following the war, neither Israel nor Hamas would rule the Gaza Strip.
Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip in 2005 and left the area to the Palestinians. Hamas seized control two years later following ousting President Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority (PA). Since then, the autonomous authority has limited government in the West Bank, which is partly occupied by Israel and where Israel has expanded its settlements despite international criticism.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also named key elements for future peace in Tokyo. “We need smart solutions on how and by whom Gaza can be managed in the future. And we need practical steps towards the two-state solution, even if it may be a long way off,” she said. Gaza should not pose a terrorist threat to Israel in the future, Palestinians should not be driven out of Gaza, and there should be no occupation or reduction in the size of the Gaza Strip, Baerbock said, similar to Blinken before. At the same time, she warned that “there must be no solution over the heads of the Palestinians.” In addition to the USA and Germany, Canada, France, Italy, Great Britain and Japan are among the seven leading democratic economic nations (G7).
According to a report in the New York Times, the militant Palestinian organization Hamas consciously accepted an escalation of the conflict with the bloody terrorist attack on Israel on October 7th. In the Islamists’ interpretation, the goal is to revive the faltering Palestinian cause through violence, the newspaper wrote on Wednesday, citing conversations with several Hamas representatives. It was necessary to “change the entire equation and not just have a clash,” said Khalil al-Hayya from the Hamas leadership to the newspaper in Doha. “We managed to put the Palestinian issue back on the table and now there is no peace for anyone in the region.”
In the eyes of Hamas, the many victims on the Palestinian side as a result of Israel’s reaction are the necessary price to pay for this, the newspaper writes. The organization’s calculation is to shake the status quo and open a new, explosive chapter in the fight once morest Israel. “I hope that the state of war with Israel on all borders will become permanent and that the Arab world will be on our side,” the New York Times quoted Taher al-Nounou, whom the newspaper describes as Hamas’s media advisor. Hamas’ goal is not to rule the Gaza Strip or to supply it with water and electricity, said Khalil al-Hayya. “It wasn’t regarding improving the situation in Gaza. This battle is intended to completely overturn the situation.”
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