Sullivan to meet with Netanyahu about timetables to end combat in Gaza: report

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing at the White House on Monday, Dec. 4. (AP/Evan Vucci)

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday that he will speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about timetables to ending combat in Gaza when he visits his country later this week. 

“The subject of how they are seeing the timetable of this war will certainly be on the agenda for my meetings,” Sullivan said Tuesday during an appearance at a forum hosted by the Wall Street Journal, according to the Associated Press. 

Sullivan also said he would also speak to Netanyahu about his recent comments that the Israel Defense Forces would maintain open-ended security control of Gaza after the war ends. 

Sullivan reiterated the Biden administration's position that it does not want to see Israel reoccupy Gaza or further shrink its already small territory. The administration has repeatedly called for a return of the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority and the resumption of peace talks aimed at establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel. 

“I will have the opportunity to talk to Prime Minister Netanyahu about what exactly he has in mind with that comment, because that can be interpreted in a number of different ways,” Sullivan said. “But the U.S. position on this is clear.”