Washington DC, United States: The US President, Joe Biden, underscored that the Israeli occupation of Gaza will be a big mistake. He outlined that this may escalate regional crises in the area.
President Biden was quoted saying that Palestinian people are not just represented by the extreme elements and Hamas.
On Sunday, during an interview with Scott Pelly on the ’60 Minutes’ on CBS News, he stated that he did not support the Israeli government in its discussion to occupy Gaza. He further underscored that he is happy with the humanitarian corridor for supplies established to send aid into Gaza.
Emphasizing the fact that Gaza was occupied by the Israeli government from 1967 till 2005, President Biden was quoted saying, “I think it’d be a big mistake. Look, what happened in Gaza, in my view, is Hamas and the extreme elements of Hamas don’t represent all the Palestinian people. And I think that it would be a mistake for Israel to occupy Gaza again.”
The reaction of the UN Ambassador of Israel:
This statement was addressed by Israel’s UN Ambassador, who mentioned that there is no interest of the Israeli government in staying in Gaza. According to the reports by the media house of Israel – Haaretz, he stated, “We have no interest to occupy Gaza or to stay in Gaza, but since we are fighting for our survival, and the only way – as the President himself defined – is to obliterate Hamas, we will have to do whatever is needed to obliterate their capabilities.”
President Biden stresses that there is a need for Palestinian authority:
In a continued discussion, President Biden outlined that Palestinian authority is needed. He said, “There needs to be a path to a Palestinian state.” He also mentioned that Hamas must be eliminated so that peaceful Palestinians can be established.
In addition to this, he was asked about Israel’s point on pursuing that path after this brutal attack. He replied, “Not now.” US President told the interviewer, “Not now, but– but I think Israel understands that a significant portion of Palestinian people do not share the views of Hamas and Hezbollah.”
Biden’s take on Iran:
Furthermore, President Biden asked the government of Iran and the terrorist group Hezbollah not to participate in the attack, escalating the war.
However, he highlighted that there is no evidence that Iran was involved in the attack on Israel.
He further said, “Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t,” when he was asked to give his message to the militant group Hezbollah. Additionally, he was quoted saying, “Iran constantly supports Hamas and Hezbollah. But in terms of where they… did they have foreknowledge; did they help plan the attack (on Israel)… there’s no evidence of that at this point.”
A safe zone for Gaza residents:
President further continued the discussion and outlined that the Biden administration has been trying to establish a safe zone for the general public of Gaza. He underscored that the government of the United States is in talks with the authorities of Egypt for assistance in getting women and children out of the dangerous war zone.
President said, “The Israelis are going to do everything in their power to avoid the killing of innocent civilians,” according to Bloomberg.
President Biden termed the attack “as consequential as the Holocaust.” He said that Israel needed to respond to the initial attack by Hamas, which killed around 1,300 people, including nearly 30 Americans.
The White House didn’t have a trip to announce:
According to two people closely associated with the internal discussion and a spokesperson for the National Security Council, for now, there is no discussion about whether to travel to Israel has yet been made. Following with the White House also claimed that it didn’t have a trip to announce.