Blinken: The ball is in Hamas’ court
Blinken added during his participation in discussions at the Atlantic Council that Egypt and Qatar have reached a final version of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza and the ball is now in Hamas’ court.
He said, “We seek to end the war in Gaza in a way that will lay the foundation for lasting peace… and enhance the legitimate aspirations of the Israelis and a state for the Palestinians,” and continued, “Our principles were that the Gaza Strip under Hamas’ rule should not pose a continuing threat to Israel and that the war in the Strip should stop.”
He explained that work is underway to formulate a plan that includes the day after the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and how to govern the Strip, noting that if an agreement is reached regarding Gaza now or after January 20, it will be an expression of the framework that Biden established last May.
Blinken revealed that there is a body that will take over the rule of the Gaza Strip the day after the war and will hand over power to a Palestinian authority, stressing the need to “ensure that Hamas is unable to rule the Gaza Strip and that the reformed Palestinian Authority takes over the rule of the Strip.”
He said, “No one can force Israel to accept a Palestinian state ruled by Hamas or any other extremist organization, and the new agreement must not affect Israel’s security or its standing,” he said.
