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Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the Muqata'a in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Jan. 10, during Blinken's week-long trip aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

Blinken presses Israel on Gaza’s future; Netanyahu denies plan to displace Palestinians

Updated January 10, 2024 at 5:36 p.m. EST|Published January 10, 2024 at 1:38 a.m. EST
2 min

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Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Wednesday after encountering resistance in earlier meetings with Israeli officials over the treatment of Palestinians and a plan for Gaza’s future. After his own meeting with Blinken, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday evening that Israel has “no intention” of permanently occupying the Gaza Strip or displacing its civilian population.

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Netanyahu denied accusations that Israeli forces are permanently clearing Palestinian civilians from portions of Gaza, where nearly 1.9 million people — 85 percent of the population — have been displaced. “Our goal is to rid Gaza of Hamas terrorists and free our hostages,” Netanyahu said. “Once this is achieved, Gaza can be demilitarized and deradicalized, thereby creating a possibility for a better future for Israel and Palestinians alike.”
Abbas also met with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Jordan for a summit on Gaza. Blinken is next heading to Cairo.
The International Court of Justice at The Hague will hold hearings this week on South Africa’s case accusing Israel of actions that amount to genocide in its war in Gaza. South Africa will present its case Thursday, and Israel will do so Friday.
Israel has arrested 38 Palestinian journalists, mostly from the occupied West Bank, since the war broke out, Reporters Without Borders said in a statement; 31 remain in Israeli prisons. The group described the wave of arrests as “unprecedented.”
The IDF said an airstrike killed a Hezbollah commander Tuesday who was responsible for “dozens of terror activities against Israel using explosive UAVs,” or drones. In a statement on Telegram, Hezbollah denied that such a commander had been killed.
At least 23,357 people have been killed in Gaza and 59,410 wounded since the war began, the Gaza Health Ministry said Wednesday. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.
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Netanyahu denied accusations that Israeli forces are permanently clearing Palestinian civilians from portions of Gaza, where nearly 1.9 million people — 85 percent of the population — have been displaced. “Our goal is to rid Gaza of Hamas terrorists and free our hostages,” Netanyahu said. “Once this is achieved, Gaza can be demilitarized and deradicalized, thereby creating a possibility for a better future for Israel and Palestinians alike.”
Abbas also met with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Jordan for a summit on Gaza. Blinken is next heading to Cairo.
The International Court of Justice at The Hague will hold hearings this week on South Africa’s case accusing Israel of actions that amount to genocide in its war in Gaza. South Africa will present its case Thursday, and Israel will do so Friday.
Israel has arrested 38 Palestinian journalists, mostly from the occupied West Bank, since the war broke out, Reporters Without Borders said in a statement; 31 remain in Israeli prisons. The group described the wave of arrests as “unprecedented.”
The IDF said an airstrike killed a Hezbollah commander Tuesday who was responsible for “dozens of terror activities against Israel using explosive UAVs,” or drones. In a statement on Telegram, Hezbollah denied that such a commander had been killed.
At least 23,357 people have been killed in Gaza and 59,410 wounded since the war began, the Gaza Health Ministry said Wednesday. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.
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Israel-Gaza war

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected what he said were conditions proposed by Hamas for the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza — including the end of the war and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Strip, leaving Hamas in place.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military ended its search for two Navy SEALs lost at sea during a mission to intercept Iranian weapons bound for militants in Yemen.

Oct. 7 attack: Hamas spent more than a year planning its assault on Israel. A Washington Post video analysis shows how Hamas exploited vulnerabilities created by Israel’s reliance on technology at the “Iron Wall,” the security barrier bordering the Gaza Strip, to carry out the deadliest attack in Israel’s history. Stock traders earned millions of dollars anticipating the Hamas attack, a study found.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip has a complicated history. Understand what’s behind the Israel-Gaza war and read about the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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