As reports bubble that Jerusalem is mulling annexing the Gaza Strip, the State Department is once again deferring to Israel.
RS asked the State Department Tuesday to confirm Haaretz reporting from Monday, where Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said that the administration approved possible plans to annex the Gaza Strip. The State Department Press Office responded simply, via email: “We’d refer you to Israeli officials.”
Al Monitor reported Tuesday that Israeli officials visited Washington to consult with the Trump administration to discuss the idea, along with over several possible proposals for Gaza’s future.
But U.S. support of such plans, including the annexation scheme, remain unclear.
Haaretz reported that Netanyahu told Israeli ministers that the Trump administration supports an annexation plan, where the Israeli Prime Minister said Ron Dermer, Israel's Minister for Strategic Affairs, shared the plan with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Asked Thursday whether the U.S. would support Israel annexing Gaza, State Department Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott simply said, “I’m not going to speculate or preview where these discussions may go.”
The annexation murmurs come amid growing international outrage over Israel’s ongoing blockade resulting in starvation of the Gaza Strip — and comments from people like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), that signal there may soon be a major shift in Israeli strategy.
On Sunday, Graham suggested Israel would ramp up its military offensive against Gaza in a manner comparable to U.S. military actions during the Second World War, after which the territory could be given over to other Arabs to control. “They’re going to do in Gaza what we did in Tokyo and Berlin. Take the place by force and start over again, presenting a better future for the Palestinians, hopefully having the Arabs take over the West Bank and Gaza,” Graham said.
Ominously, Netanyahu himself wrote on X last week that, "together with our U.S. allies, we are now considering alternative options to bring our hostages home, end Hamas's terror rule, and secure lasting peace for Israel and our region.” In that statement, he stressed that “Hamas is the obstacle to a hostage release deal.”
Netanyahu did not clarify what those “alternative options” were.
