Israel needs clear, concrete plan for Gaza’s future, says Blinken

Kyiv, May 15

Israel needs a clear and concrete plan for the future of Gaza where it faces the potential for a power vacuum that could become filled by chaos, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.

The remarks drew an apparent Israeli riposte, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying post-war planning was impossible without first completing the demolition of Hamas.

“We do not support and will not support an Israeli occupation. We also of course, do not support Hamas governance in Gaza…. We’ve seen where that’s led all too many times for the people of Gaza and for Israel. And we also can’t have anarchy and a vacuum that’s likely to be filled by chaos,” Blinken said during a press conference in Kyiv. In a statement, Netanyahu appeared to push back against the criticism, though he did not refer directly to Blinken.— Reuters