Secretary Blinken criticizes Israel's war strategy, pushes Biden plan for Gaza reconstruction

On Tuesday, in one of his final appearances in that role, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C., where he spoke about the Gaza War and the vision of the Biden administration for the postwar future of the Palestinian enclave. 

Blinken’s speech touched on many aspects of the over 14-month-long war in Gaza, as well as traditional points of U.S. policy regarding an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, such as the call for a two-state solution. 

Blinken did not deviate from previous statements, and continued to maintain a critical attitude towards many of the Israeli government’s decisions regarding its war strategy and its unwillingness to consider a role for the Palestinian Authority in the governance of Gaza following the end of the war. 

Blinken especially criticized the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for an unwillingness to develop a post-war plan for Gaza, which he said has led to repeated resurgence of Hamas in areas cleared by the IDF. 

“We’ve long made the point to the Israeli government that Hamas cannot be defeated by a military campaign alone, that without a clear alternative — a post-conflict plan and a credible political horizon for the Palestinians — Hamas, or something just as abhorrent and dangerous, will grow back,” Blinken stated. 

“That’s exactly what’s happened in northern Gaza since Oct. 7,” he added. “Each time Israel completes its military operations and pulls back, Hamas militants regroup and reemerge because there’s nothing else to fill the void.” 

“Indeed, we assess that Hamas has recruited almost as many new militants as it has lost,” the secretary said. 

Blinken said Hamas is following a strategy of perpetuating the war as long as Israel remained in Gaza, and claimed Israel’s current tactic of military pressure would not be successful. 

“That is a recipe for an enduring insurgency and perpetual war,” the secretary stated. 

“Israel has pursued its military campaign past the point of destroying Hamas’ military capacity and killing the leaders responsible for October 7, convinced that unrelenting military pressure was required to get Hamas to accept a ceasefire and hostage deal on Israel’s terms,” Blinken said. 

He said that Hamas has “cynically weaponized the suffering of Palestinians,” for its own benefit and to turn world opinion against Israel. 

Blinken also pushed for a plan for post-war Gaza developed by the Biden administration, which would involve creating an interim administration to handle civil matters in the enclave, while help for rebuilding comes from the international community. 

"We believe that the Palestinian Authority should invite international partners to help establish and run an interim administration with responsibility for key civil sectors in Gaza like banking, water, energy, [and] health," Blinken said. 

Blinken said the interim panel for governing Gaza should contain representatives from the Palestinian Authority, along with local representatives. He also envisioned this committee working with a “senior UN official” appointed to oversee the reconstruction effort. 

He also called for the creation of an interim force to help maintain security during the rebuilding. 

“An interim security mission would be made up of members of partner nation security forces and vetted Palestinian personnel.”

The secretary said that the Biden administration would hand over its proposed roadmap to the incoming team of President Donald Trump, in case the ceasefire negotiations are successful. 

Blinken also appeared to acknowledge disagreements within the administration, saying U.S. officials had debated vigorously over aspects of Biden’s response to the war, including those who were critical of the administration’s support for Israel as well as those who believed Washington hampered Israel’s ability to respond. 

"It is crucial to ask questions like these, which will be studied for years to come," he said. "I wish I could stand here today and tell you with certainty that we got every decision right. I cannot.”