The White House National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, estimated this Friday from Tel Aviv that it would not be “correct” for Israel to occupy the Gaza Strip in the long term when the war against Hamas ends.
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“We do not believe it makes sense or is right for Israel to occupy Gaza […] long term,” Sullivan told reporters after meeting with Israeli officials.
The Israeli government itself, Sullivan stressed, “indicated that it had no intention of occupying Gaza in the long term, and that the control of Gaza, the administration of Gaza and the security of Gaza has to return to the Palestinians.”
The timetable for this transition is the subject of “intense discussions” between Israel and its American ally, he added. Sullivan's visit intervenes in a context of disagreements between Israel and the United States over the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip. Washington wants the offensive to move to “low-intensity operations” in the “near future,” according to the White House.
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The war was sparked by unprecedented attacks by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on October 7 against Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed, according to authorities. In retaliation, Israel vowed to “annihilate” Hamas, in power in Gaza since 2007. In the Gaza Strip more than 18,700 people have been killed in the Israeli offensive, saccording to the Hamas Ministry of Health.
AFP
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