fbpx

News

Kerry says Gaza demilitarisation must be part of long-term ceasefire

[ssba]

US Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday said that any lasting ceasefire in Gaza must involve the disarmament of Hamas and other terrorist groups.

Speaking yesterday in Washington, Kerry said, “any process to resolve the crisis in Gaza in a lasting and meaningful way must lead to the disarmament of Hamas and all terrorist groups. And we will work closely with Israel and regional partners and the international community in support of this goal.”

Kerry’s comment followed US President Obama’s call for “the disarmament of terrorist groups and the demilitarization of Gaza” during a phone call with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday. Netanyahu himself, during a televised address yesterday evening, urged the international community to “aggressively demand” demilitarisation initially through the dismantlement of the Gaza tunnel network.

Kerry had come under fire from much of the Israeli media due to his failed attempt to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas over the weekend. Kerry reportedly tabled a draft proposal for a truce which had been negotiated primarily with Qatar and Turkey, Hamas’s favoured interlocutors, effectively side-lining the ceasefire efforts of Egypt which had already been backed by Israel, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and much of the international community. Kerry’s draft reportedly contained only cursory mention of Israel’s security needs and did not tackle the cessation of rocket fire or the dismantling of tunnels used to attack Israel.

Yesterday, both US National Security Advisor Susan Rice and Israel’s Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer played down talk of bilateral tensions over the criticism of Kerry. Both were speaking at a national Jewish leadership conference. Dermer said, “I speak for my prime minister: criticisms of Secretary Kerry for his good-faith efforts to bring a cease fire are unwarranted,” and said Israel “knows we have the support of America’s leaders” in defending herself. Rice said she had been “dismayed” at some of the Israeli media reports, but assured “Israel is not alone – not in war and not in peace.”