By: Jake Smith, Daily Caller News Foundation
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the Biden administration’s proposal Tuesday to allow the Palestinian Authority to regain control of the Gaza Strip after the war with Hamas is over.
The Biden administration is seeking to reinstall the Palestinian Authority as the governing body of Gaza after the war between Israel and Hamas concludes. Netanyahu rejected this notion in a Tuesday announcement and said he would block any attempt to put the Palestinian Authority back in Gaza, highlighting growing tensions between the Biden administration and Israeli leadership.
“Yes, there is a disagreement about ‘the day after Hamas,’ and I hope that we will reach an agreement there as well,” Netanyahu said on X. “I would like to clarify my position: I will not allow Israel to repeat the mistake of Oslo.”
Netanyahu is referencing a peace treaty that was signed in 1993 that recognized the Palestinian Authority as the “representative” of Gaza, which Netanyahu has long disagreed with, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Palestinian Authority conserved power in Gaza and parts of the West Bank for over a decade under corrupt leadership.
The Palestinian Authority was ousted from Gaza in 2007 by Hamas, who subsequently took control of the region. The remnants of the Palestinian Authority, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, are now largely ineffective and struggle to maintain control of the West Bank.
“After the great sacrifice of our civilians and our soldiers, I will not allow the entry into Gaza of those who educate for terrorism, support terrorism and finance terrorism,” Netanyahu said on Tuesday. “Gaza will be neither Hamastan nor Fatahstan,” referencing Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, according to the WSJ.
Netanyahu’s comments come roughly a day after President Joe Biden claimed that he and Netanyahu seldom agree, and warned that Israel could lose support, according to Reuters. Biden and Netanyahu have a decades-old relationship that has at times come to a head.
“We have to be careful,” Biden said on Monday at a Jewish Hanukkah festival, according to Reuters. “They have to be careful. The whole world’s public opinion can shift overnight. We can’t let that happen.”
Israel has turned its counteroffensive to the southern portion of Gaza, targeting strongholds in the dense urban environment in the city of Khan Younis. The Biden administration has pressured Israel to limit its operations in southern Gaza and warned against carrying out its counteroffensive much longer.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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