“As we work for peace, Gaza and the West Bank should be reunited under a single governing structure, ultimately under a revived Palestinian Authority, as we all work toward a two-state solution,” Biden said in an op-ed published in the Washington Post.
US President Joe Biden. Photo: Reuters
“There must be no forceful dispossession of the Palestinian people from Gaza, no reoccupation, no siege or blockade, and no territorial atrophy,” Mr. Biden said.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has opposed Mr Biden's plan for the Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza. "I think the Palestinian Authority in its current form is not capable of taking responsibility for Gaza after we fought and did all this," he said at a press conference in Tel Aviv.
Mr Netanyahu has previously said Israel must maintain “overall military responsibility” in Gaza “for the foreseeable future”.
The Palestinian Authority once ran both the West Bank and Gaza but was ousted from Gaza in 2007 after a brief civil war with Hamas. Biden also said the US was prepared to impose visa bans on “extremists” who attack civilians in the West Bank.
“I have stressed to Israeli leaders that the extremist violence against Palestinians in the West Bank must end and those who commit violence must be held accountable,” Biden said.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Mr Biden to pressure Israel to end violence against Palestinians.
“I also call on you to urgently intervene to stop the attacks by Israeli forces and the continued terrorism by settlers against our people in the West Bank and Jerusalem,” he said in a special speech broadcast on Palestine TV.
The West Bank, home to three million Palestinians and more than half a million Jewish settlers, has been in turmoil for more than 18 months, raising international concern as violence escalates in the region.
Quoc Thien (according to Reuters)
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