Biden: Palestinian Authority should govern Gaza and West Bank

(Patria) - US President Joe Biden said on Saturday that the Palestinian Authority should eventually govern the Gaza Strip and the West Bank after the war between Israel and Hamas.

"As we strive for peace, Gaza and the West Bank should be reunited under a governance structure, ultimately under a revitalized Palestinian Authority, as we all work toward a two-state solution," Biden said in an op-ed in The Washington Post, Reuters reports.

"There must be no forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, no re-occupation, no siege or blockade, and no reduction in territory," Biden said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has disputed Biden's plan for the Palestinian Authority to
govern Gaza.

"I think the Palestinian Authority in its current form is not capable of taking responsibility for Gaza after we fought and did all this, to transfer it to them," he said at a press conference in Tel Aviv.

Netanyahu has previously said Israel must maintain "overall military responsibility" in Gaza "in
the foreseeable future".

Biden says the United States is prepared to issue visa bans for "extremists" attacking civilians in the West Bank. Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians living in the Israeli-occupied West Bank has increased since Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7.

"I have been clear with Israeli leaders that extremist violence against Palestinians in the West Bank must stop and that those who perpetrate violence must be held accountable," Biden said.