US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has absolutely endorsed Israel’s conflict goals within the Gaza Strip, saying Hamas “have to be eradicated” and throwing the way forward for the shaky ceasefire into additional doubt.
Rubio met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in West Jerusalem on Sunday firstly of a regional tour, the place he’s prone to face pushback from Arab leaders over US President Donald Trump’s proposal to displace the Palestinian inhabitants from the Gaza Strip and redevelop it beneath United States possession, a plan that human rights organisations have referred to as ethnic cleaning.
“The president has additionally been very daring, not the identical drained concepts of the previous however one thing new,” Rubio advised reporters.
Netanyahu welcomed the plan, additionally referring to it as “daring”, and stated he and Trump have a “widespread technique” for Gaza’s future.
Echoing Trump, he stated “the gates of hell could be open” if Hamas doesn’t launch dozens of remaining captives kidnapped in its October 7, 2023 assault that preceded the conflict.
The leaders’ remarks got here simply two weeks earlier than the first part of the ceasefire in Israel’s conflict on Gaza, which has killed greater than 61,700 Palestinians, is ready to finish. The second part – through which Hamas is to launch dozens of remaining captives in change for extra Palestinian prisoners, a long-lasting truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces – has but to be negotiated.
Rubio stated Hamas “can not proceed as a navy or authorities drive”.
“So long as it stands as a drive that may govern or as a drive that may administer or as a drive that may threaten by use of violence, peace turns into not possible,” Rubio stated. “It have to be eradicated.”
Such language may complicate efforts to proceed talks with Hamas, which, regardless of struggling heavy losses within the conflict, stays intact and accountable for Gaza.
The US Center East envoy, Steve Witkoff, stated on Sunday that talks on the second part of the ceasefire would proceed this week, after he had “very productive and constructive” calls with Netanyahu, in addition to Egypt’s director of intelligence and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
“[We spoke about] the sequencing of part two, setting forth positions on either side, so we are able to perceive… the place we’re right this moment, after which persevering with talks this week at an area to be decided in order that we are able to determine how we get to the top of part two efficiently,” Witkoff stated.
Netanyahu’s workplace confirmed on Sunday that an Israeli negotiating crew would fly to Cairo on Monday for extra talks on the Gaza ceasefire settlement and its implementation.
Former US diplomat Nabeel Khoury stated Rubio has damaged with the normal setup for US diplomats to first meet with the Israeli authorities after which the Palestinian Authority, which has some management within the occupied West Financial institution.
“Rubio just isn’t doing that. So that is sidetracking the Palestinian Authority regardless of all of the conveniences and all of the cooperation and collaboration it has given the Israeli authorities,” he advised Al Jazeera.
“The following cease after Israel goes to be Riyadh and probably the United Arab Emirates,” Khoury added, arguing that this matches into “Trump’s imaginative and prescient … which is rebuilding Gaza minus the Palestinian inhabitants”.
Osama Hamdan, a senior spokesperson for Hamas, advised Al Jazeera that Israeli plans to drive Palestinians out of Gaza will not be new and have been voiced earlier than, together with through the first and the second Intifadas.
Trump “has no clue concerning the resistance of the Palestinians. He has no clue about how the Palestinians are linked to their homeland”, Hamdan stated, noting “It’s not actual property. It’s a homeland.”
He added that each time Israeli officers have talked concerning the “elimination” of Hamas, the group has solely turn out to be “stronger”.
With Trump, ‘we’ll end the job’
Following the assembly with Rubio, Netanyahu stated Israel and the US are each decided to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its “aggression” within the Center East.
“Behind each terrorist group, behind each act of violence, behind each destabilising exercise, behind every part that threatens peace and stability for the thousands and thousands of individuals that decision this area house is Iran,” Rubio stated.
Netanyahu stated Israel had dealt a “mighty blow” to Iran over the previous 16 months for the reason that begin of the conflict in Gaza in opposition to Hamas and stated that with the help of Trump “I’ve little doubt we are able to and can end the job”.
He stated Israel had weakened the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah and had hit a whole lot of targets in Syria to stop a brand new Iranian-backed entrance from opening up in opposition to Israel.
In the meantime, the Israeli navy stated it carried out an air strike early on Sunday on individuals who approached its forces in southern Gaza.
The Gaza Inside Ministry stated the strike killed three of its policemen whereas they have been securing the entry of support vans close to Rafah, on the Egyptian border.
Hamas stated that the assault was a “severe violation” of the ceasefire and accused Netanyahu of making an attempt to sabotage the deal.
Hamdan advised Al Jazeera that Netanyahu and his authorities’s actions counsel “the ceasefire is in jeopardy”, however Hamas will do its greatest to proceed with the settlement.
“I can be clear on this,” he stated. “If Netanyahu decides to assault Gaza one other time, it is not going to be [easy] for him.”
