Blinken warned Israel in Buenos Aires: “The size of Gaza’s territory should not be reduced.”
Buenos Aires:
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated on Friday Washington’s opposition to Israel’s reoccupation of the Gaza Strip and the reduction of Palestinian territory.
Blinken’s comments came in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s post-war Gaza plan, which would have given Israeli forces “indefinite freedom” to operate throughout the Gaza Strip once Hamas was defeated.
“Gaza… must not become a platform for terrorism. Israel should not reoccupy Gaza. The size of Gaza’s territory should not be reduced,” Blinken said in Buenos Aires after attending a meeting of Group of 20 foreign ministers in Brazil.
Blinken reiterated Washington’s support for Israel’s right to “self-defense” following an attack on Thursday near a West Bank Jewish settlement in which three Palestinians opened fire on a vehicle, killing one person and wounding eight others.
Palestinians have complained about worsening Israeli restrictions in the West Bank since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for a “firm security response… and colonization” to build thousands of new units in settlements like Maale Adumin and across the West Bank. housing.
“New settlements are inimical to a lasting peace and inconsistent with international law,” Blinken said.
“Our government is firmly opposed to settlement expansion. In our judgment, it will only weaken, not strengthen, Israel’s security.”
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