TEL AVIV: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that he was committed to US President Trump’s plan to take over Gaza and displace its Palestinian population, vowing that after the Israeli war, “there will be neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority” ruling the besieged Palestinian territory. Trump’s controversial plan for the Gaza Strip has faced widespread criticism.
In a statement on Monday, Netanyahu said he was “committed to US President Trump’s plan for the creation of a different Gaza”. He said that after the Israeli war, “there will be neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority” ruling the Palestinian territory.
The United States, Israel’s top ally and weapons supplier, says it is open to alternative proposals from regional governments, but Rubio has said for now, “the only plan is the Trump plan”.
The proposal lacked detail but Trump said Palestinians had “lived a miserable existence” in Gaza and suggested the coastal territory could become the “Riviera of the Middle East” following redevelopment after more than 15 months of Israeli war.
On Monday Egypt hosted the latest meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, which initially gathered in Saudi Arabia last year.
Egypt’s foreign ministry stressed Cairo’s “full commitment to implementing the two-state solution” to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and “the necessity of establishing an independent Palestinian state”.
Trump’s proposal has strained a truce between Israel and Hamas, the first phase of which would expire in early March.
Negotiations on a second phase, aimed at securing a more lasting end to the war, could begin this week in Doha, a Hamas official and another source familiar with the talks have said.
Netanyahu’s office said he would convene a meeting of his security cabinet on Monday to discuss phase two.
It said negotiators dispatched to Cairo would “receive further directives for negotiations” on the second phase after the cabinet meeting.
Gaza ceasefire
Earlier, Netanyahu said he spoke with Rubio about “Trump’s bold vision for Gaza’s future” — which experts have warned would violate international law — and about ways to “ensure that vision becomes a reality”.
Since the Gaza ceasefire took effect on January 19, a total of 19 Israeli hostages have been released in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
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Out of 251 people seized in Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, 70 remain in Gaza.
Rubio called in a statement for the immediate release of all remaining captives.
Gross violation
The Israeli war on Gaza has rippled across the Middle East, triggering violence in Yemen and Lebanon.
An Israeli strike Monday in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon killed a Hamas commander, Mohammed Shahine.
Netanyahu said that with the support of the Trump administration, “I have no doubt that we can and will finish the job” against Iran.
Iran on Monday condemned Netanyahu’s remarks, calling them “a gross violation of international law”.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has launched a relentless bombardment campaign in Gaza that has killed at least 48,271 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to figures from the health ministry in the territory that the United Nations considers reliable.
