Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel “cannot go back to the status quo” when the war between the Jewish State and the terrorist organization Hamas ends, as the conflict between the two enters its third week.
When asked on NBC News’s Meet the Press about who will govern Gaza when the war ends, Blinken said Israel has no plans to govern the Palestinian enclave, but the nation will need to address Hamas’s role as the governing body of Gaza.
CASH DASH: WHAT THE CAMPAIGN TREASURE CHESTS TELL US ABOUT THE HOUSE IN 2024
“We can’t go back to the status quo. They can’t go back to the status quo, with Hamas being in a position in terms of its governance of Gaza to repeat what it did,” Blinken said. “At the same time, what I’ve heard from the Israelis — is absolutely no intent, no desire to be running Gaza themselves.”
Blinken added that Israel moved out of Gaza “unilaterally, unconditionally” decades ago, “but they can’t be in a position where they’re constantly at the threat of the most horrific terrorist attacks coming from Gaza.”
“So, something needs to be found that ensures that Hamas can’t do this again, but that also doesn’t revert to Israeli governance of Gaza, which they do not want and do not intend to do,” the secretary of state said.
WATCH: Israel has “absolutely no intent” to govern Gaza once the war is over, @SecBlinken says.
Israel “can’t go back to the status quo. … Something needs to be found that ensures Hamas can’t do this again, but that also doesn’t revert to Israeli governance of Gaza.” pic.twitter.com/zCMr3pzqnd
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) October 22, 2023
Hamas released two American hostages, Judith Tai Raanan and Natalie Shoshana Raanan, to the Red Cross on Friday. They were reunited with family in Israel and spoke to President Joe Biden following their release.
The Gaza-based terrorist group kidnapped about 200 people during the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in southern Israel. Many of those people are civilians who live in the communities near the border with Gaza.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Blinken said on Sunday that some of the 10 Americans who remain unaccounted for may be held by terror groups. However, Blinken added that Israel continues to uncover people who were “slaughtered.”
“So what we don’t know for sure is whether some of the unaccounted for are dead and have simply not been uncovered yet, or whether they are hostage, but we have a pretty strong idea that some number of the 10 at least are being held in Gaza by Hamas,” Blinken said.
