JERUSALEM, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- U.S. envoy Jason Greenblatt urged Wednesday the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to resume control over the Gaza Strip.
Greenblatt, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, made the remarks during a tour in Israel-Gaza border area.
He toured Hamas cross-border tunnels that Israel has exposed, guided by Israel's military Major General Yoav Mordechai, the coordinator of government activities in the territories.
At the end of the tour, Greenblatt said that the Palestinian Authority should "resume its role in the administration of Gaza," due to the damage inflicted by Hamas, an Islamist organization that controls Gaza.
"I learned a great deal about the difficult challenges facing the Israel Defense Forces, Israelis living in surrounding areas and the Palestinians living in Gaza as a result of Hamas' mismanagement of humanitarian aid and its commitment to terrorist violence," he said.
He also called on Hamas to return the bodies of the Israeli soldiers, Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who were killed in Gaza during Israel's 2014 campaign in Gaza.
He urged Hamas to "release the Israeli civilians they are holding," while the organization has never confirmed it.
The last two U.S. administrations have called the Ramallah-seated Palestinian Authority to resume its administrative control over the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian enclave that has been under Israeli and Palestinian blockade since 2007.
Greenblatt arrived in Israel last week along with a senior delegation with an aim of attempting to revive the long-stalled Israel-Palestinian peace talks, according to the White House.
