The prime minister has “no mandate to end the war without a decisive defeat of Hamas,” said National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
JNS Staff
(JNS)
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Saturday he would support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in talks on the latest U.S. truce proposal with Hamas in Gaza, while other coalition allies warned against ending the war before the terrorist organization’s defeat.
“I trust the prime minister to represent Israel’s interests as required in talks with President Trump,” Sa’ar, whose New Hope Party holds four Knesset seats, tweeted ahead of Netanyahu’s meeting in Washington.
“After two years of war, Israel’s clear national interest is to end the war and achieve its objectives,” Jerusalem’s top diplomat wrote in Hebrew.
U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed on Friday night that talks with Arab nations and Israel regarding the future of the Strip were underway, speaking in the wake of reports of a 21-point peace plan put forth by his administration to put an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“All of the Countries within the Region are involved, Hamas is very much aware of these discussions, and Israel has been informed at all levels, including Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu,” the president stated.
Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Trump at the White House on Monday.
On Sept. 23, Washington presented a 21-point plan to Arab leaders on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly annual general debate in New York, which would see a prompt release of the 48 Israeli hostages who remain in captivity in Gaza after 722 days, the transfer of power to an intermediary Arab-led government and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian enclave, according to a CNN report.
Saudi-based broadcaster Al Arabiya claimed it obtained a copy of the plan, and said that an international force would temporarily govern Gaza civilians, with the Palestinian Authority eventually taking over.
Israel’s Channel 12 News reported on Saturday that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was conditioning his support for the truce deal on the “complete non-involvement” of the P.A. in Gaza; the elimination and demilitarization of Hamas; and Israeli sovereignty over parts of Judea and Samaria, preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Smotrich, whose Religious Zionist Party hold seven seats in parliament, has signaled that at least some of his demands should be included in an agreement to end the war in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, Otzma Yehudit Party leader and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said in an X post on Saturday that the prime minister had “no mandate to end the war without a decisive defeat of Hamas.”
According to Channel 12, the ultra-Orthodox parties—Shas and United Torah Judaism—which formally departed from Netanyahu’s government in July but have helped pass some laws to avoid triggering elections, are expected to back a deal.
“Our position is in favor of ending the war and returning the hostages,” said United Torah Judaism lawmaker Moshe Gafni, who heads UTJ’s Degel HaTorah faction, according to the Channel 12 News report.
Forty-eight hostages remain in captivity in the Strip, 722 days after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border terror attacks in the Jewish state’s south. According to official estimates, up to 20 are believed to be alive.
Image: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and New Hope Party leader Gideon Sa’ar at a press conference, Sept. 29, 2024. Photo by Haim Zach/GPO.
