Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated in a statement Monday that “there will be neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority” in Gaza after the war there ends, responding to unconfirmed Arab media reports that the terror group had agreed to hand over the reins of the Strip to the West Bank-based PA.
According to Sky News Arabia, Hamas made the decision under pressure from Egypt, a mediator of the terror group’s month-old truce and hostage deal with Israel. Responding to the reports, Netanyahu spokesman Omer Dostri wrote on X: “Not going to happen.”
In a later statement, Netanyahu also said that he was “committed to US President Trump’s plan” to oust Gaza’s roughly two million residents and rebuild the Strip. An Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Monday that Israel would not let Hamas stay in Gaza under any circumstances, whether through negotiations or by other means. The official reiterated that Israel was “embracing with both hands” Trump’s plan for Gaza, adding that emigration from the Strip would be voluntary. (Read More)
