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Sullivan: The fight against Hamas will take months

2023-12-15 18:32:18, Kosova & Bota CNA

Sullivan: The fight against Hamas will take months

President Biden's National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan

President Biden's National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, is in Israel, where during the last two days he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and in the West Bank with the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. American diplomatic efforts in the Middle East are aimed at persuading Israel to reduce the intensity of the fighting to avoid civilian casualties.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan acknowledges that the war will take time, but he called on Israel to protect the lives of Palestinian civilians.

"What I heard from Israeli Defense Minister Gallant is that the war against Hamas will last for months. We agree with that, as this terrorist group is deeply entrenched in Gaza, and this war will take time and happen in phases," Mr Sullivan said during a press conference on Friday from the US embassy in Jerusalem.

However, what distinguishes the American position from that of Israel is when Israeli forces must reduce the intensity of the fighting and find a way to target Hamas leaders and avoid killing civilians.

"The terrorists chose to enter among the civilians. This creates an incredible burden on the Israeli forces, a burden that is unusual for an army in this day and age. This burden does not diminish Israel's responsibility to act in a way that distinguishes between terrorist targets and innocent people and to take every precaution to protect civilians and minimize loss of life," Mr. Sullivan said.

Mr. Sullivan also discussed the post-war future of Gaza with both sides.

According to a senior US official, this could include the return of Palestinian security forces expelled by Hamas from their posts after the militant group took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.

"The issue of how the transition will happen and in what time frame, this is something we are discussing intensively. We do not believe that it makes sense or is right for Israel to occupy Gaza in the long term... We believe that the Palestinian Authority needs to be renewed and revitalized in terms of method and governance. This will require a lot of work from everyone involved in the Palestinian Authority, starting with President Mahmoud Abbas," said Mr. Sullivan, ahead of today's meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who according to Palestinian news agency WAFA , demanded an end to Israel's attacks on Gaza.

Israel strongly opposes the return of former security forces as it seeks to maintain a presence in Gaza and says it will not allow the Palestinian Authority, led by Mr Abbas, which administers parts of the West Bank, to take over Gaza. . The Palestinian Authority also remained deeply disliked by Palestinians.

Fierce fighting has meanwhile continued in the Gaza Strip.

Incessant Israeli bombardment has destroyed much of the narrow coastal strip over the past two months.

According to Hamas authorities in Gaza, nearly 19,000 people have been killed during the fighting.

Israel launched attacks on Gaza in response to a Hamas terrorist attack on October 7 that killed 1,200 Israelis and took 240 hostages.

Over 100 Israelis have so far been released by Hamas in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians who were released from Israeli prisons./ VOA