Rubio in Israel: ‘No peace when someone wants to kill you’

“If Israel’s security is under threat, and Gaza becomes a place that wants to destroy Israel – then there will be no peace. There cannot be peace when someone wants to kill you.”

By Gila Isaacson, JFeed

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the American headquarters in southern Israel on Friday.

Accompanying the tour was Stephen H. Feigin, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Yemen, the Western-recognized government based in Aden.

The new headquarters, established to oversee activities in the Gaza Strip, hosted Rubio to observe the operations of American soldiers.

Rubio received a security briefing from generals and met with senior IDF officials.

During the visit, Rubio said “We need security for Israel and for the people in Gaza. We want to ensure the ceasefire is maintained, aid enters and is not stolen. We want to create conditions for the stabilization force to enter as quickly as possible, once formed, to provide the stability we need.”

He added that “there is no Plan B; this is the best plan … Many countries want to join the international force being established and operating in Gaza.”

Rubio said the US “expressed concern about the Palestinian Authority, which needs reform.”

“We are discussing 30 years of mistakes and terror. We are only 12 days into the agreement. UNRWA will not play a role in the Gaza Strip; eight to ten groups will participate, but not UNRWA. There cannot be rockets and tunnels threatening Israel. If Israel’s security is under threat, and Gaza becomes a place that wants to destroy Israel – then there will be no peace. That cannot be the outcome. There cannot be peace when someone wants to kill you,” said the Secretary of State.

He also addressed the legislative proposals for annexing Judea and Samaria, approved this week in the Knesset in a preliminary reading.

“Annexation of the West Bank would threaten the entire process in Gaza because many countries involved would not want to remain involved… The Knesset vote on annexation, to my understanding, was intended to embarrass Netanyahu. Annexation could threaten the continuation of the agreement; many countries involved in the agreement would oppose it. But I will not interfere in Israel’s internal politics.”

On expanding the Abraham Accords, Rubio said: “There is an entire wing in the (U.S.) State Department working on expanding the Abraham Accords. There are countries that can join now, and Israel and the region would benefit greatly from it.”

“A lot of work is happening here,” Rubio said in a statement from the site. “This is historic. It’s something that has never happened before. We have much to be proud of. There were many challenges but also many opportunities.”

Rubio clarified: “There will be ups and downs, but we have many reasons to be optimistic.”