Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday fully supported the purpose of Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip, casting further doubt on the volatile ceasefire, saying Hamas “must be eradicated.”
Rubio will meet with Jerusalem Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jerusalem Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump will relocate the Palestinian population from Gaza and redevelop it under US owners at the start of the regional tour. It is likely that they will face pushbacks from Arab leaders to the president’s proposal.
Netanyahu welcomed the plan and said he and Trump had a “common strategy” for Gaza’s future. Reflecting Trump, he said that if Hamas doesn’t release dozens of hostages that were accused of October 7, 2023, he would “open the gates of hell” attacks that sparked a 16-month war. He said.
Their remarks came two weeks before the first phase of the ceasefire was set to end. The second phase, where Hamas will release dozens of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, has not yet been negotiated.
Rubio said Hamas cannot continue as a military or government force. “Peace becomes impossible as long as it stands as a power that can govern or manage it, or as a power that can be blackmailed by the use of violence,” he said. “It has to be eradicated.”
Such languages could complicate ongoing consultations with Hamas, which continues to rule Gaza, despite suffering great losses in the war.
Rubio will also visit heavyweights in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia regions.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces said they launched airstrikes on Sunday on those approaching troops in southern Gaza. Hamaslan Interior Ministry said the strike killed three police officers while securing the intrusion of aid trucks near Rafa on the Egyptian border.
Hamas called the attack a “serious violation” of the ceasefire and accused Netanyahu of trying to block the contract.
Hostages could be doomed when war resumes
Resuming the war could result in death sentences for the remaining hostages and could not succeed in eliminating Hamas.
Netanyahu has shown that he is ready to resume the war after the current phase, offering the opportunity to surrender to Hamas and lead its top leader to exile.
Hamas rejected such a scenario, and spokesman Abdul Latif Al-Kanou told The Associated Press that the group would accept either the Palestinian united government or the Technocrat Committee that runs Gaza. The group advocates Palestinian rules.
Hamas has yet to approve mobile homes and heavy equipment entry to Gaza last week, prior to Netanyahu proceeding with what is called guarantees from Arab mediators. Because they were not there, they threatened to keep the latest release of hostages. Qatar and Egypt.
An Israeli official said on condition of regulatory anonymity, and said the issue will be discussed in the coming days and that Israel is coordinating with the US.
In another indication of the closure rank of the allies, Israel’s Ministry of Defense said it received shipments of 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms) MK-84 ammunition from the United States. The Biden administration suspended shipping of such bombs last year over concerns about civilian casualties in Gaza.
“If someone has a better plan… that’s great.”
In a radio interview last week, Rubio showed that Trump’s proposal was intended to pressure Arab countries to develop their own postwar plans that are acceptable to Israel.
He also appeared to suggest that the Arab countries would send troops to fight Hamas.
“If someone has a better plan, if the Arab countries have a better plan, I hope it’s great,” Rubio said Thursday on “Clay and the Back Show.”
But “Hamas has a gun,” he added. “Someone has to stand up to those people. They will not become American soldiers. And if the countries in the region can’t understand the work, Israel will have to do that.”
Rubio was not planning to meet the Palestinians on his trip to the Middle East.
Arabs have limited options
For Arab leaders, promoting the massive expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza and fighting Palestinian extremists on behalf of Israel has led to domestic criticism and stably volatile regions. It’s a nightmare scenario that could make it.
Egypt held an Arab summit on February 27th and is working with other countries on counter-propositions that will allow Gaza to be rebuilt without deleting its population. Human rights groups say the expulsion of Palestinians is likely to violate international law.
Egypt warns that a massive influx of Palestinians from Gaza will undermine a nearly half-century peace treaty with Israel.
“The continued conflict and widening its scope will without exception harm all parties,” Egyptian President Abdel Fatta El-Sisi said on Sunday, according to a statement in his office.
Arab and Muslim countries have reverted to Palestinian rule, which has a path to states in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Israel’s territory seized in the 1967 Middle East War, and has given them support for postwar Gaza. It’s conditioned.
Israel excluded all its Palestinian state and its role in Gaza for Western-backed Palestinian authorities when Hamas seized power there in 2007.
Rubio visits local heavyweights
The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have also rejected the massive displacement of Palestinians, making them key to local responses.
The United Arab Emirates was the driving force behind the 2020 Abraham Agreement, which normalized relations with Israel in the previous Trump period, when four Arab countries with Israel normalized relations with Israel. Trump wants to expand the agreement to include Saudi Arabia, and could provide closer US defense ties, but the kingdom normalizes relations with Israel if it doesn’t have a path to a Palestinian state. He says he won’t.
Rubio closes US allies in peace with Israel, which has not visited Egypt or Jordan and refuses to accept the influx of Palestinian refugees. Trump suggests that if they don’t follow, he may cut back on aid to us.
Rubio also skips Qatar.
