Blinken offers most detailed picture to date of post-war Gaza plans
CNN
Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered his most detailed picture yet of his long-awaited plans for post-war Gaza on Tuesday as he stressed the importance of not leaving a power vacuum in the decimated Palestinian strip.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered his most detailed picture yet of his long-awaited plans for post-war Gaza on Tuesday as he stressed the importance of not leaving a power vacuum in the decimated enclave. Blinken presented the “core elements” in a speech at the Atlantic Council just days before his term as top US diplomat comes to an end. Although he said the plans would be handed over to the incoming Trump team, there is no evidence that the new administration intends to follow through with them. The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has raged on for more than a year, with more than 46,000 people killed in the besieged enclave, according to the Palestinian Healthy Ministry. The majority of those killed have been women and children as efforts to achieve a ceasefire and hostage deal have only in recent weeks gained traction. Blinken on Tuesday expressed optimism about such an agreement, saying that it is “ready to be concluded and implemented” if Hamas accepts. In what could be his final public remarks as secretary of state, Blinken sought to defend the Biden administration’s policy on Gaza – a policy that has faced sharp criticism from some Democratic lawmakers and current and former US officials, as well as human rights organizations that say Israel is carrying out genocide. The Biden administration and the Israeli government have rejected that conclusion. In a speech interrupted multiple times by protestors calling him “bloody Blinken,” the top US diplomat acknowledged the deep divisions over the administration’s policy on Gaza, noting, “I wish I could stand here today and tell you with certainty that we got every decision right. I cannot.” “I wish I could tell you that leaders in the region always put their people’s interests ahead of their own interests. They did not,” Blinken said as he stressed the need for the day-after plans to be executed.
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered his most detailed picture yet of his long-awaited plans for post-war Gaza on Tuesday as he stressed the importance of not leaving a power vacuum in the decimated Palestinian strip.
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