In a move that further complicates the already tense situation in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced his full support for former U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to empty the Strip of its inhabitants and displace them, despite widespread international rejection of this plan.
This announcement comes as Saudi Arabia prepares to host an Arab summit to discuss a response to the American proposals, amid growing fears of the repercussions of this plan on the future of the region.
During a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Israel, the latter affirmed his country’s “commitment to Israel’s security,” noting that “Hamas cannot remain a military or governing force in Gaza.”
For his part, Netanyahu did not hesitate to announce his “respect” for the Trump plan, saying: “Just as I pledged that in the day following the war in Gaza, there will be no Hamas or Palestinian Authority, I must respect Donald Trump’s plan to create another Gaza.”
These statements by Netanyahu have been met with strong criticism from Palestinians and Arab countries, who considered them “a serious threat to security and stability in the region.”
Meanwhile, the Israeli Security Council is preparing to discuss the second phase of the truce agreement, which aims to release all prisoners held in Gaza and end the war permanently. Israel has also announced the dispatch of negotiators to Cairo to discuss the resumption of the first phase of the agreement, which is scheduled to end on March 1.
On another level, dozens of families of Israeli prisoners demonstrated in front of the parliament in Jerusalem, demanding that the government make every effort to return their children “alive.”
In a related context, Netanyahu warned of “opening the gates of hell” on Hamas, threatening to “finish the job” with Iran, which prompted Tehran to warn that “threatening others constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations.”
With continued tensions in the region, the fate of the Gaza Strip remains hanging in the balance in light of these rapidly unfolding developments.