The Palestinian Authority in its current state is not capable of governing the Gaza Strip after Hamas is defeated, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Sunday.

Speaking to ABC’s “This Week,” Kirby said only a “reformed and revitalized Palestinian Authority” could competently carry out the task.

The remarks follow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s assertion that the Palestinian governing body, which holds partial control over the West Bank, is incapable of governing Gaza, as he claims that like Hamas, it also denies Israel’s existence.

The Palestinian Authority “pays murderers…. They educate their children to hate Israel and, to my sorrow, to murder Jews, and ultimately for the disappearance of the State of Israel,” he responded to a reporter’s question on the matter in a press conference Saturday.