US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has absolutely endorsed Israel’s struggle goals within the Gaza Strip, saying Hamas “should 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 initially 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 below 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 mentioned he and Trump have a “frequent technique” for Gaza’s future.
Echoing Trump, he mentioned “the gates of hell can be open” if Hamas doesn’t launch dozens of remaining captives kidnapped in its October 7, 2023 assault that preceded the struggle.
The leaders’ remarks got here simply two weeks earlier than the first part of the ceasefire in Israel’s struggle on Gaza, which has killed greater than 61,700 Palestinians, is about to finish. The second part – by which Hamas is to launch dozens of remaining captives in alternate for extra Palestinian prisoners, an enduring truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces – has but to be negotiated.
Rubio mentioned Hamas “can’t proceed as a army or authorities power”.
“So long as it stands as a power that may govern or as a power that may administer or as a power that may threaten by use of violence, peace turns into unimaginable,” Rubio mentioned. “It should be eradicated.”
Such language may complicate efforts to proceed talks with Hamas, which, regardless of struggling heavy losses within the struggle, stays intact and in charge of Gaza.
The US Center East envoy, Steve Witkoff, mentioned 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 each side, so we are able to perceive… the place we’re immediately, after which persevering with talks this week at a neighborhood to be decided in order that we are able to work out how we get to the top of part two efficiently,” Witkoff mentioned.
Netanyahu’s workplace confirmed on Sunday that an Israeli negotiating group would fly to Cairo on Monday for extra talks on the Gaza ceasefire settlement and its implementation.
Former US diplomat Nabeel Khoury mentioned 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 is just not 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 subsequent cease after Israel goes to be Riyadh and presumably 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 power Palestinians out of Gaza aren’t new and have been voiced earlier than, together with throughout 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 mentioned, 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 grow to be “stronger”.
With Trump, ‘we are going to end the job’
Following the assembly with Rubio, Netanyahu mentioned 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 little thing that threatens peace and stability for the tens of millions of individuals that decision this area house is Iran,” Rubio mentioned.
Netanyahu mentioned Israel had dealt a “mighty blow” to Iran over the previous 16 months for the reason that begin of the struggle in Gaza in opposition to Hamas and mentioned that with the assist of Trump “I’ve little question we are able to and can end the job”.
He mentioned Israel had weakened the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah and had hit tons of of targets in Syria to stop a brand new Iranian-backed entrance from opening up in opposition to Israel.
In the meantime, the Israeli army mentioned it carried out an air strike early on Sunday on individuals who approached its forces in southern Gaza.
The Gaza Inside Ministry mentioned the strike killed three of its policemen whereas they had been securing the entry of help vehicles close to Rafah, on the Egyptian border.
Hamas mentioned that the assault was a “critical violation” of the ceasefire and accused Netanyahu of attempting 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 finest to proceed with the settlement.
“I will probably be clear on this,” he mentioned. “If Netanyahu decides to assault Gaza one other time, it is not going to be [easy] for him.”