Israel and the US are at odds over conflicting visions for postwar Gaza

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Source: Associated Press

Israel and the US are at odds over conflicting visions for postwar Gaza

BY JOSEF FEDERMAN AND SAMY MAGDY
Updated 8:40 AM EST, December 7, 2023

JERUSALEM (AP) — The United States has offered strong support to Israel in its war against the Hamas militant group that rules the Gaza Strip. But the allies are increasingly at odds over what will happen to Gaza once the war winds down.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, this week announced that Israel would retain an open-ended security presence in Gaza. Israeli officials talk of imposing a buffer zone to keep Palestinians away from the Israeli border. They rule out any role for the Palestinian Authority, which was ousted from Gaza by Hamas in 2007 but governs semi-autonomous areas of the occupied West Bank.

The United States has laid out a much different vision. Top officials have said they will not allow Israel to reoccupy Gaza or further shrink its already small territory. They have repeatedly called for a return of the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority and the resumption of peace talks aimed at establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

These conflicting visions have set the stage for difficult discussions between Israel and the U.S.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-gaza-netanyahu-biden-6e9b74682a61f8327727d44df644534b