Blinken proposes UN role, Palestinian state path in Gaza

WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday proposed international security forces and temporary UN leadership to stabilize post-war Gaza but said Israel in turn must agree on a pathway to a Palestinian state.

With talks in Qatar nearing a ceasefire in the devastating 15-month war, Blinken laid out his long-awaited roadmap for post-war Gaza after a defeat of Hamas -- with days left before he leaves office.

Key mediator Qatar said negotiations for a Gaza truce and hostage release deal were in their "final stages" on Tuesday, adding that it was hopeful an agreement could be reached "very soon".

Qatar, Egypt and the United States have stepped up efforts to broker a ceasefire to enable the release of hostages held in Gaza since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

On Monday, US President Joe Biden said a deal was "on the brink" of being finalised, just days before the inauguration of his successor, Donald Trump.

On Tuesday, Qatar foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said negotiations were in their "final stages".

"We do believe that we are at the final stages... certainly we are hopeful that this would lead very soon to an agreement," Ansari said, adding "until there is an announcement... we shouldn't be over-excited about what's happening right now".

"We have reached a point where the major issues that were preventing a deal from happening were addressed," he told a news conference.

Blinken acknowledged the misgivings of Israel -- where prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads a far-right government and expects even stronger US support under President-elect Donald Trump -- but pleaded for a new approach.

"We've long made the point to the Israeli government that Hamas cannot be defeated by a military campaign alone," Blinken said at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington.

"Without a clear alternative, a post-conflict plan and a credible political horizon for the Palestinians, Hamas -- or something just as abhorrent and dangerous -- will grow back," he said.

In line with his calls since the start of the war, Blinken said that Gaza should be under the control of the Palestinian Authority -- which now holds shaky, partial control of the West Bank and has been repeatedly undermined by Israel.

Acknowledging the limitations of the Palestinian Authority, Blinken said an unstated number of countries have offered to send troops and police to post-war Gaza.

He said that the "interim security mission" would include both foreign forces and "vetted Palestinian personnel."

"We believe that the Palestinian Authority should invite international partners to help establish and run an interim administration with responsibility for key civil sectors in Gaza, like banking, water, energy, health," Blinken said.

A source briefed on the Doha negotiations said earlier the heads of Israel's intelligence agencies, the Middle East envoys for the incoming and outgoing US administrations and Qatar's prime minister had been due at the talks.

"Mediators will hold separate talks with Hamas," the source said.

Qatar said later the talks were being held at the "highest level".

Sources close to the talks and Israeli media said the first phase of a deal would see 33 Israeli hostages released, while two Palestinian sources close to Hamas told AFP that Israel would release about 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange.

An Israeli government official said that "several hundred terrorists will be released" as part of the first phase of the deal.

Israeli media also reported on Tuesday that under the proposed deal, Israel would be allowed to maintain a buffer zone inside Gaza during the implementation of the first phase.

Successive rounds of negotiations had failed to end the deadliest war in Gaza's history.

The Palestinian Authority would coordinate with Israel and the rest of the international community, which would be asked to provide funding.

A senior UN official would oversee the effort, which would be enshrined by a UN Security Council resolution, Blinken said.

"The interim administration would include Palestinians from Gaza and representatives from the PA selected following meaningful consultation with communities in Gaza," Blinken said.

The interim authority "would hand over a complete responsibility to a fully reformed PA administration as soon as it's feasible," he said.

Longer-term 

The post-war deal would take shape in negotiations after an initial ceasefire, which both Blinken and President Joe Biden said was on the "brink" of acceptance.

Trump has backed efforts to end the war but is also expected to ally himself firmly with Israel, to which Biden authorized billions in weapons but occasionally criticized over civilian deaths.

Netanyahu has long fought the idea of a Palestinian state, and his allies have described the renewed push for statehood as a reward for the October 7, 2023 attack, the deadliest in Israel's history.

Blinken rejected the argument, saying: "Far from rewarding Hamas, accepting a political horizon would be the ultimate rebuke to its nihilistic agenda of death and destruction."

Blinken, who was repeatedly interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters, also criticized Israel over actions during the conflict.

"Israel's government has systematically undermined the capacity and legitimacy of the only viable alternative to Hamas, the Palestinian Authority."

Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed 46,645 people, a majority of them civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures that the UN considers reliable.