Speaking at the Aspen Security Conference about the possibility of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “I believe we’re … driving toward the goal line in getting an agreement that would produce a ceasefire, get the hostages home, and put us on a better track to trying to build lasting peace and security. ... The question now is finishing the negotiation of some critical details that are important.”
On the longer-range goal of trying to build lasting peace and security, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller was adamant that Hamas could have no role in the future governance of Gaza. He spoke after various Palestinian factions - including Hamas and Fatah, which controls the Palestinian Authority - signed a China-brokered declaration that could lead to a unity government roadmap for a post-war Gaza.
“[W]hen it comes to governance of Gaza at the end of the conflict, there can’t be a role for a terrorist organization. Hamas has long been a terrorist organization. They have the blood of innocent civilians – both Israeli and Palestinian – on their hands,” he said. “[A]s we have made clear, we want to see the Palestinian Authority governing a unified Gaza and the West Bank.”
Spokesperson Miller said the United States has encouraged China to use its influence with countries in the region with whom it has a relationship to discourage any escalation in the conflict.
“So for example, Iran, which continues to finance and support proxies that have launched attacks on Israel, or in the case of the Houthis, have launched attacks on commercial shipping, we have [asked] China to use its influence to try to bring those attacks to an end, and we’ll continue to do that,” he said.
Spokesperson Miller noted that despite the supposed unity agreement and remarks by a Hamas spokesman who “makes statements from time to time ... Hamas as an organization has not renounced its support for violence, its support for terrorism, or its commitment to the destruction of the state of Israel.”
“[U]ltimately,” said Spokesperson Miller, “the best way to ensure that Hamas does not regain strength and reassert its position inside Gaza is to offer a different political path forward for the Palestinian people. And that’s what we are committed to doing. That’s what we have been trying to work on with all of our partners in the region.”
