Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statements, in which he indicated that his country would seek to assume security responsibility in Gaza for an "indefinite period" after the war, raised concerns about Israel's future intentions in the Strip, amid calls made by American officials regarding the importance of not moving forward with this proposal.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken confirmed that Israel “cannot occupy” the Gaza Strip, after the end of the war it is currently waging against Hamas.

Blinken said in statements to reporters from Tokyo: “Hamas cannot continue to run Gaza. This simply paves the way for a repeat of what happened on October 7th... It is also clear that Israel cannot occupy Gaza.”

The American minister also spoke about “the need for some transitional period at the end of the conflict.”

Before that, the White House confirmed on Tuesday that US President Joe Biden does not support Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip once the war ends.

In response to a question about Netanyahu's statements, John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said he would leave it to Netanyahu to clarify what he meant by controlling Gaza "for an indefinite period."

Netanyahu said in an interview with ABC News earlier this week that Israel would seek to assume responsibility for security in Gaza "indefinitely."

William Lawrence, professor of international affairs at George Washington University, says that Netanyahu's statements caused a state of frustration and dissatisfaction in the United States.

Lawrence adds to Al-Hurra website, "When the conflict began in Gaza, there was something like an agreement between the United States and Israel that the latter should not reoccupy Gaza."

Lawrence continues: “With the start of the conflict, Israel had repeatedly stated in public that it would not reoccupy Gaza, but Netanyahu’s statements indicate that it may have backed away from its declared and agreed-upon position with the United States.”

Therefore, Lawrence believes that "this matter may be what caused Blinken to come out publicly to confirm that Israel should not reoccupy Gaza and perhaps indicate that Washington is not in agreement with Israel in this context."

During the weeks following the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza, Netanyahu was widely criticized for not presenting a clear plan for what would happen in Gaza if Israel succeeded in its goal of overthrowing Hamas.

The Washington Post quotes American officials who requested anonymity as saying that Netanyahu's recent statements raised concerns among the Biden administration, which believes that Israel needs to avoid any proposal requiring an open occupation of Gaza.

The newspaper shows that American officials may be more nervous than before about Israel's post-conflict plans in Gaza.

In an analysis published by the newspaper on Wednesday, writer Adam Taylor says that Netanyahu has “failed” to date to formulate any kind of long-term plan for Gaza and its 2.3 million people, which is “something that cannot be justified” in any way.

Israeli officials appear to have backed away from Netanyahu's comments, with Defense Minister Yoav Galant saying, "It will not be Hamas, and it will not be Israel," when asked who would ultimately control Gaza after the war. “Everything else is possible,” he added.

Later, on Wednesday, Reuters quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that Israel has no intention of reoccupying the Gaza Strip or controlling it for a long time.

The Israeli official added to reporters in Washington on condition of anonymity, “We estimate that our current operations are effective and successful, and we will continue to push. They are not absolute or forever,” without mentioning a time frame.

Israel is still vague regarding its long-term plans for the Gaza Strip, which is run by the Hamas movement, if its air, land and sea operation, which came in the wake of the movement’s bloody attack on October 7 in southern Israel, is crowned with success.

Lawrence says, "The United States wants Israel to withdraw from Gaza as soon as possible after the end of the war and the elimination of Hamas, and for the Palestinians to rule Gaza."

He pointed out that "the United States will certainly be with any solution that is accepted by the Palestinians and the people of Gaza and is also approved by the Fatah movement."

Lawrence expressed his belief that "whoever governs Gaza after the end of the conflict must not depart from the currently existing Palestinian Authority or be handed over to a new Palestinian Authority to be established in Gaza."

Lawrence stipulates that the new authority "must be accepted by the residents of the Gaza Strip, as well as Israel, the United States, and the international community, and that it be created from a group of technocrats from the people of Gaza to replace Hamas."

Washington stresses the path of the two-state solution to end the crisis between the Palestinians and Israelis in the long term.

Source: Alhurra