Home Uncategorized Netanyahu Pushes Back: Defends Trump’s Gaza Plan Amid Fierce Resistance From His Own Hardliners-groot

Netanyahu Pushes Back: Defends Trump’s Gaza Plan Amid Fierce Resistance From His Own Hardliners-groot

Uncategorized · October 1, 2025 · Comments off
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump attend a news conference at the White House on Monday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned from Washington facing pushback at home after backing US President Donald Trump’s new 20-point peace proposal for Gaza.

Speaking to members of his cabinet on Tuesday evening, Netanyahu tried to calm concerns among hardline ministers, stressing that cooperation with the United States “is tighter than many believe,” according to officials who attended or were briefed on the closed-door meeting.

“This plan presents a major opportunity,” Netanyahu reportedly told his ministers, though the government has not yet held a formal vote on whether to endorse it.

Hamas fighters patrol a street in Deir el-Balah, Gaza, on February 8.

The Israeli leader addressed two issues causing the most tension within his coalition: the plan’s reference to a possible future Palestinian state and the requirement that Hamas disarm and Gaza be demilitarized. Netanyahu downplayed the language on Palestinian statehood, calling it deliberately “ambiguous,” and insisted that Israel and Washington would control the process through a US-led “Board of Peace.”

That body, he said, would oversee disarmament efforts: “If Hamas does not carry it out, we will.” He emphasized that the arrangement with Trump leaves little room for misinterpretation, warning the outcome could come “peacefully, by force, or both.”

U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers remarks during a joint news conference in the State Dining Room at the White House on September 29, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump welcomed Netanyahu for his fourth visit to the White House, where the two leaders met to discuss the latest U.S. backed plans to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas.

Still, the proposal has already drawn sharp criticism from Netanyahu’s far-right partners. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called the agreement “full of holes” and accused Netanyahu of sacrificing Israel’s security. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich likewise dismissed the plan as a “diplomatic failure” and urged closer scrutiny before any approval.

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Meanwhile, Hamas leaders met with mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey to prepare their official response, while in Gaza City the Red Cross suspended operations amid worsening humanitarian conditions. Local health officials reported at least 51 Palestinian deaths over the past 24 hours, most in the north of the enclave.

Trump, speaking to reporters in Washington, said he expects Hamas to deliver an answer within “three or four days,” claiming broad support for the initiative from both Arab and Muslim states.

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