Israel unveils big West Bank land seizure as Antony Blinken visits
Blinken said on Friday that an offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah would risk “further isolating” Israel and damage its long-term security.
Speaking as he departed Israel, Blinken told reporters he had “candid conversations”, referring to meetings with officials including Netanyahu.
Netanyahu said after meeting Blinken that Israel is prepared to continue its war against Hamas alone.
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Blinken said Washington shared Israel’s goal of defeating Hamas and ensuring its long-term security, but “a major military ground operation in Rafah is not the way to do it”.
“It risks killing more civilians. It risks wreaking greater havoc with the provision of humanitarian assistance. It risks further isolating Israel around the world and jeopardising its long-term security and standing,” he said.
“We’ll be able to lay out for them in detail … how those goals can best be accomplished with an integrated humanitarian military and political plan,” Blinken said. “We’ll put all that on the table. Of course, we’ll hear from them too.”
Blinken also discussed with Israeli officials the “imperative of surging and sustaining humanitarian assistance for the people in Gaza”, he said, citing figures that 100 per cent of the population there is acutely food insecure and in need of humanitarian assistance.
“There have been some positive steps taken in recent days to improve the situation, but it’s not enough,” he said.
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“We’ve gotten it down to a few remaining gaps but the closer you get to the goal line the harder that last yard is, so there are some hard issues to work through,” Blinken said.
“While there are those in Israel and the world who seek to undermine our right over the Judea and Samaria area and the country in general, we are promoting settlement through hard work and in a strategic manner all over the country,” Smotrich said, using Israel’s term for the West Bank.
Jordan condemned the new land seizure, “reaffirming the kingdom’s categorical rejection and denunciation of the Israeli government’s ongoing violations of all international law norms”.
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Excluding annexed east Jerusalem, they are now home to more than 490,000 Israelis, who live alongside around three million Palestinians.
Since the October 7 attacks, violence has escalated between the settlers and Palestinian inhabitants of the West Bank.
Additional reporting by Reuters