The US-proposed international peace force in Gaza would have to be comprised of countries that Israel approves, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
“To get through all of the things we are trying to achieve, it’s not gonna be a linear journey,” he said at a press conference in Kiryat Gat on Friday. “There’s gonna be ups and downs and twists and turns. But I think we have a lot of reason for healthy optimism about the progress being made.”
Rubio added that “good progress is being made on a number of different fronts.”
He said the future of governance in Gaza still needs to be worked out among Israel and partner nations but could not include Hamas, adding that any role for the Palestinian Authority has yet to be determined. He added that UNRWA cannot play a part in the Gaza Strip and called it a “subsidiary of Hamas.”
Army Radio also quoted Rubio saying that “if Hamas does not disarm, it will be a violation of the agreement; everyone agrees that Hamas will not control Gaza. There is no Plan B; this is the only plan, and we will not stop pushing until all commitments are met.”
When asked if Israel would have to ask US President Donald Trump to renew the fighting in Gaza if needed, Rubio didn’t give a straight answer, but stated that the US was “very committed to Israel’s security.”
Rubio also stated that the US and its partners in the region would have a growing role in the activities in Gaza.
Rubio says West Bank annexation counterproductive to Gaza peace
The secretary of state added that he did not believe Israel would annex the West Bank, and called the vote by the Knesset to advance a bill regarding Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank “a threat to the peace process” and “counterproductive.”
Rubio told reporters that “they passed a vote in the Knesset, but the president has made clear that’s not something we’d be supportive of right now. We think there’s potential for it to threaten the peace deal.”
He added, “They’re a democracy, people are going to have their votes, people are going to take these positions, but at this time we think it might be counterproductive.”
Before the press conference, the diplomat received a security briefing from generals and met with senior IDF officials.
In a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, Rubio noted the challenges of the Gaza deal.
“We have more work ahead of us, but we feel very positive about it. We’ve been making good progress,” Rubio said.
Netanyahu stated, “We want to advance peace; we still have security challenges, but I think that we can work together, and by working together, both address the challenges and seize the opportunities, and plenty of both.”