Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed Hamas will be disarmed, following reports that the United States is considering moving ahead with rebuilding parts of Gaza even as the terror group retains its weapons. Speaking at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Netanyahu also reiterated Israel’s “opposition to a Palestinian state anywhere west of the Jordan River.”
The comments came ahead of an expected UN Security Council vote on Monday on a draft resolution to enshrine US President Donald Trump’s comprehensive Gaza plan, which says “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway” to Palestinian statehood once there is peace in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority “faithfully” reforms itself.
Israel is lobbying the US and other countries to water down the language on Palestinian statehood, Hebrew media reported Sunday. Trump’s 20-point plan, which Netanyahu endorsed in a September 29 press conference with the US president, also calls for the disarmament of Hamas, demilitarization of Gaza, reconstruction of the Strip and handing the enclave over to an International Stabilization Force (ISF) and an apolitical Palestinian administration overseen by a Trump-chaired Board of Peace. (Read More)
