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WASHINGTON, July 25 (Xinhua) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented an uncertain vision for post-conflict Gaza in a speech to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday.
“The day after we defeat Hamas, a new Gaza could emerge,” Netanyahu said. “My vision for that day was a demilitarized and deradicalized Gaza.”
Netanyahu insisted before the US Congress that “Israel does not seek to rebuild Gaza.” He stressed: “But we must maintain a high level of security control there for the foreseeable future to prevent the resurgence of terrorism and ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.”
He added: “The new generation of Palestinians must no longer be taught to hate Jews, but to live in peace with us.”
About 70 House and Senate Democrats boycotted Netanyahu’s speech. Most notable was the absence of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who serves as Senate President.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the U.S. Capitol and at Washington’s Union Station to protest Netanyahu’s visit and demand that Washington stop military aid to Israel.
At least 39,090 Palestinians have been killed and another 90,147 injured as the Gaza war enters its tenth month. Israel and Hamas have failed to reach a comprehensive ceasefire or an agreement on the release of hostages after multiple rounds of negotiations.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Near East Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said on Wednesday that people in the Gaza Strip are exhausted by ongoing displacement and uninhabitable conditions, and are trapped in increasingly cramped and overcrowded areas.
UN agencies estimate it will take 15 years to clear the Gaza Strip of 40 million tons of debris left by Israel’s war on the Palestinian enclave.
“The debris poses a deadly threat to the people of the Gaza Strip as it may contain unexploded ordnance and hazardous materials,” the agency report said.
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