Israel and its Arab neighbors will face “tough decisions” about the governance of Gaza in order to establish a “just, lasting, and secure peace” after the defeat of Hamas, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“We’re also using our diplomacy to look at not only what’s happening today and how we’re handling that, but also what happens the day after in Gaza and how we can get on the path to a just, lasting, and secure peace for Israelis, for Palestinians — in fact, for everyone in the region,” Blinken said in Dubai. “A lot of it requires hard work, tough decisions, commitments that various countries will have to make.”
GEORGE SANTOS EXPELLED FROM HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Blinken offered that forecast amid the collapse of the seven-day truce that had enabled the release of more than 100 hostages Hamas seized during the Oct. 7 massacre that ignited the war. The renewal of conflict prompted the top U.S. diplomat to demand Israel avoid civilian casualties, an American “imperative” that points to brewing disagreements about the definition of success and the management of the Gaza Strip after the conflict.
“Israel has one of the most sophisticated militaries in the world. It is capable of neutralizing the threat posed by Hamas while minimizing harm to innocent men, women, and children,” Blinken said in Jerusalem after a Thursday meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “I underscored the imperative to the United States that the massive loss of civilian life and displacement of the scale we saw in northern Gaza not be repeated in the south.”
Netanyahu reiterated his goal of “eliminating Hamas” on Wednesday, an ambition that points to an intense and sustained effort to destroy the organization. Blinken renewed the U.S. endorsement of Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas, but he defined that necessity in narrower terms.
“We support … Israel’s efforts to do everything possible to ensure that Hamas cannot repeat the horrors of Oct. 7,” he said, “and that means, among other things, that Hamas cannot remain responsible for governance in Gaza, and it cannot retain the capacity to repeat those attacks.”
That definition drew criticism from Capitol Hill, where some analysts and policymakers interpreted it as a sign that Blinken is preparing for “the strategic withdrawal of or heavy conditioning of American support for Israeli military efforts,” as one prominent congressman put it.
“They started off, at least rhetorically, very strong and supportive of Israel and supportive of the mission that is in front of Israel, which is to dismantle and destroy Hamas,” Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), who leads the select committee on the U.S. competition with China and sits on the intelligence and armed services panels, said Friday during a Foundation for Defense of Democracies discussion. “They’re slowly succumbing to progressive pressure. … all it does is undermine the support that Israel needs to accomplish what will be a very dangerous and difficult mission.”
Israel’s military goal has drawn international skepticism, often on the grounds that an ideology such as the one that animates Hamas cannot be eradicated by force and that the attempt to uproot the terrorist group in its current form would require unacceptable civilian casualties that may even inspire a new generation of terrorist recruits. And yet, Israel has said it can’t abide an outcome that stops short of “ensuring that Gaza will never again go back to being a threat to the state of Israel,” as Netanyahu put it.
“If Hamas [simply] can’t govern Gaza, does that mean that Hamas still has rockets to flow from Gaza?” FDD research fellow Hussain Abdul-Hussain told the Washington Examiner. “At this point, the zeal of the Biden administration is a few notches below the zeal in Israel to take out Hamas.”
That divergence may be continuing into the planning for the post-conflict phase. Israel reportedly has signaled to neighboring Arab states a plan for a “buffer zone” in Gaza.
“Israel wants this buffer zone between Gaza and Israel from the north to the south to prevent any Hamas or other terrorists from infiltrating or attacking Israel," an unnamed regional source told Reuters.
That proposal drew a swift response from President Joe Biden’s team. “We don’t support any reduction of the geographic limits of Gaza,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Friday. “Gaza must remain Palestinian land and cannot be reduced.”
Blinken’s trip to visit the United Arab Emirates coincided with a major climate summit, which was attended not only by the secretary but also a delegation from Israel. Israeli President Isaac Herzog met with Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, a meeting that produced the first photograph ever taken of a senior Israeli official and a Qatari leader, according to the Times of Israel, as well as UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
“I thank him for the warm welcome here in Dubai as part of the UN Climate Conference,” Herzog tweeted after his meeting with Mohammed, whose government normalized relations with Israel in the 2020 Abraham Accords. “In my meetings with world leaders I intend to raise the firm demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. In addition, I will detail and emphasize efforts to provide more and more humanitarian aid to the civilians of Gaza, which is an integral part of the overall campaign.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Those conversations could point to a resolution of the post-war dilemma in Gaza, given the UAE’s recent willingness to provide aid to Gaza.
“The UAE has Hamas classified as a terrorist organization, and they don't talk,” said Abdul-Hussain, the FDD analyst. "So, the UAE is planning these things, which means that the UAE does not imagine postwar Gaza as something that has Hamas in it. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be investing or planning or building field hospitals.”