Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich commended Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his “resolute stance” on Gaza disarmament following the Board of Peace meeting in Jerusalem on Monday, but added that the stated goal of destroying Hamas was “incompatible with conducting negotiations with Hamas leaders, who should not be alive at all.”
Smotrich further asserted that Netanyahu’s stated goals for Gaza were only “halfway there,” with the missing half being full Israeli control of Gaza, including Israeli settlement there.
Netanyahu: Advancing Trump’s Gaza plan is ‘problematic’
Jared Kushner, Board of Peace Director-General Nikolay Mladenov, and Tony Blair met with Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials on Monday, continuing to apply pressure on Israel to move forward with the next stage of the US plan for Gaza and advance US President Donald Trump‘s 20-point plan, including the 15-point document on disarming Hamas.
Netanyahu told attendees of the Board of Peace meeting on Monday that making progress on the US plan for Gaza was “problematic” because of the approaching Knesset elections in October, CNN reported.
After CNN reported Netanyahu’s reticence to move forward with the plans, the Prime Minister’s Office released a statement saying the prime minister and the BoP had “deep and constructive discussions” and agreed to establish two working groups.
One group would be focused on Gaza disarmament and demilitarization, and another would focus on sanitation, clean water, and other public health issues for the people of Gaza.
Amichai Stein and Idan Kweller contributed to this report.
