US protests Israel’s “re-occupation” of Gaza

Buenos Aires:

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday reaffirmed Washington’s opposition to any annexation of the Gaza Strip by Israel, as well as any reduction in the size of the Palestinian territory.

Blinken’s comments were in response to a plan laid out by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Gaza after the war, in which his country’s forces would have “indefinite freedom” to operate throughout the Gaza Strip after Hamas is defeated.

“Gaza…cannot be a stage for terrorism. Gaza must not be recaptured by Israel. The Gaza area must not be reduced in size,” Blinken said in Buenos Aires after attending the G20 meeting of foreign ministers in Brazil. “

Blinken reaffirmed Washington’s support for Israel’s right to “self-defense” after an attack on Thursday near a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, in which three Palestinians opened fire on vehicles, killing one and wounding eight. Have become.

Palestinians have complained of worsening conditions in the West Bank under Israeli sanctions since the war began in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas.

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for a “firm security response… and decolonization” by building thousands of new housing units in settlements such as Ma’ale Adumim and the West Bank.

Blinken said that “the new settlements are counterproductive to reaching lasting peace, and are also inconsistent with international law.”

“Our administration is strongly opposed to settlement expansion. In our judgment, it only weakens, not strengthens, Israel’s security.”

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