Unlock free Digest editor
Roula Khalaf, editor of FT, chooses her favorite story in this weekly newsletter.
Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue the war of Israel with Hamas in Gaza, in his most excited pledge that would still refuse a permanent truce, because Donald Trump said Palestinians could move from the endlave.
Israel And the Palestinian militant group agreed the initial truce last month, which still has a few more weeks, while the conversations should start next week in a complete stop of the war and the return of dozens of the remaining Israeli hostages.
“We can’t leave Hamas there [in Gaza]because Hamas will continue the battle to destroy Israel. . . You can’t talk about peace. . . If this toxic killer organization remains standing, “Israeli Prime Minister said at a press conference at the White House on Tuesday with the US president.
Netanyahu said earlier that Israel remained dedicated to his stated goals from the Gaza war, including “Total Victory” Hamas.
His last vow came because Trump caused international fire, saying that he would now “take” Gaza’s belt and that Palestinians should permanently leave the broken coastal enclave.
Netanyahu, smiling during a common look, praised the American leader for his “outside the frame” of thinking about the future of the Palestinian territory, describing him as a move that could “change history”.
Arab states, including Saudi Arabia pushed Against the idea, although Netanyahu said he believed that neither the transfer of almost 2 million Palestinians from Gaza nor the continuation of the fight against Hamas would necessarily undermine the prospect of agreement to normalize relations with Riyadh.
Comparing Hamas with the Nazi regime and the army at the end of World War II, Netanyahu said that if “you want another future you [have got to] Hit people who want to destroy you and destroy peace. . . This will introduce peace with Saudi Arabia and others. “
Saudi officials made the end of the war in Gaza, together with the future for Palestinian statehood in Gaza and the occupied west coast, a prerequisite for any normalization contract with Israel.
At a press conference, Trump said his administration “discussed” the possibility of Israel that annexed the West Coast but has not yet reached a position in this.
“We will probably publish on this specific topic in the next four weeks,” Trump added.
The termination of fire interruption with American, agreed last month, invited the initial 42-day truce to include a gradual edition of 33 Israelis taken as hostages during Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023. From Israeli prison.
In the past two weeks, 13 Israelites and five Thai nationals have been liberated in Gaza captives, and on Saturday another circle of hostages for prison has reached.
The second phase of the ceasefire, which is still to be neglected in detail, would include the release of dozens of remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for permanently stopping the war – the appearance that Netanyahu had thrown away in doubt again.
The reactions in Israel to Trump’s remarks on Tuesday were extremely positive, especially from the far right side of the country, which considered its comments the approval of their long position to encourage “voluntary emigration” of Palestinians from the disputed territories.
Former National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who resigned from the Netanyahu Government last month in protest because of Gaza, said in radio interviews that he would return if Trump’s plan was running.
“Donald, this looks like the beginning of a wonderful friendship,” wrote an ultra -nationalist politician in English on X.
Gideon Sa’ar, the Foreign Minister, said on Wednesday in the Parliament speech that “Gaza is an experiment that has failed” in the last seven decades.
“Every person with eyes in his head understands that Gaza has no future in his present format,” he added.
Finance Minister Bezalel Districh, who threatened to “dismantle” Netanyahu’s ruling coalition if the war did not continue at the end of the month, wrote on X Trump in English: “Together, we will do the world again.”
