The United States welcomes the Palestinian Authority’s deployment yesterday to the Erez, Kerem Shalom, and Rafah crossing points in Gaza. The United States believes it is essential that the Palestinian Authority assume full responsibility for Gaza.
The United States will be following developments in Gaza closely, while working together with the Palestinian Authority, Israel, and international donors to try to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
As we’ve made clear in the past, any Palestinian government must unambiguously and explicitly commit to nonviolence, recognize the State of Israel, accept previous agreements and obligations between the parties—including to disarm terrorists—and commit to a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. If Hamas is to play any role in a Palestinian government, it must accept these basic requirements.
