US opposes Israel ‘reoccupation’ of Gaza or any shrinking of Palestinian territory

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday reaffirmed Washington’s opposition to any reoccupation of the Gaza Strip by Israel as well as any reduction of the Palestinian territory’s size.

Blinken’s remarks were in response to a plan for post-war Gaza put forward by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which his country’s army would have “indefinite freedom” to operate throughout the Gaza Strip once Hamas is defeated.

“Gaza … cannot be a platform for terrorism. There should be no Israeli reoccupation of Gaza. The size of Gaza territory should not be reduced,” Blinken said in Buenos Aires where he was attending a G20 meeting of foreign ministers.

Blinken reaffirmed Washington’s support for Israel’s right to “self-defence” after a Thursday attack near a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, in which three Palestinians fired on vehicles, killing one and wounding eight.