US pledges to help rebuild Gaza, block Hamas from efforts

JERUSALEM • US Secretary of State Antony Blinken kicked off a Middle East diplomatic mission with a pledge to help reconstruction efforts in Gaza, left battered after an 11-day conflict with Israel.

Standing next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem yesterday, Mr Blinken said he will specify an aid package to the Palestinians later in the day.

The United States will ensure that Hamas - the militant Islamist movement which governs the Gaza Strip that is also designated a terrorist group by the US, the European Union and others - "does not benefit" from international efforts to rebuild the isolated enclave.

Mr Blinken reiterated the US' commitment to Israel's right of self-defence, adding that he is working on replenishing Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile defence system, which intercepted many rockets from Gaza that would have otherwise struck civilian targets.

While the two allies appeared in sync about their approach to the Palestinians, there appeared to be some distance between them about the Biden administration's intention to revive a deal that would end economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs to its nuclear programme.

Israel is opposed to resuscitating the accord with Iran, which it regards as its biggest national security threat, and had backed former US president Donald Trump when he pulled out of the pact. The 2015 nuclear deal with Iran "paves the way for Iran to have an arsenal of nuclear weapons with international legitimacy", Mr Netanyahu said.

The US will consult closely with Israel about the discussions in Vienna to rejoin the nuclear deal, while at the same time "continue to work together to counter Iran's destabilising actions in the region", Mr Blinken said.

His next destination is the West Bank city of Ramallah where he will speak with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas after he wraps up his meetings with top Israeli officials.

He then travels to Cairo and Amman today to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi before returning to the US.

Israel and Hamas agreed last week to an Egyptian-brokered truce that ended an 11-day conflict that killed more than 250 people in the Palestinian territory and 12 in Israel. Israeli air strikes pummelled civilian infrastructure in Gaza including hospitals and residential buildings, saying Hamas was using them to attack Israel.

Reconstruction is always complicated in Gaza because Israel and donor countries do not want money or materials to fall into Hamas' hands.

The US is looking for ways to have the Palestinian Authority, in concert with the United Nations, lead the reconstruction efforts.

In his comments with Mr Netanyahu and before the trip, Mr Blinken had underscored how limited the US vision is for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

He did not call for a new peace process or press the two sides to start down the road towards a two-state solution. Instead he made clear that the US goal is to make the ceasefire stick, get aid to the Palestinians and try to restore some semblance of calm.

BLOOMBERG