Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed in a video statement on Monday that the Gaza ceasefire proposal released by the White House on Monday allows the Israeli military to “stay” in the Gaza Strip.
“It was a historic visit. Instead of Hamas isolating us, we turned things around and isolated Hamas,” Netanyahu said of his meeting with President Trump at the White House, according to The Times of Israel.
“Now the whole world, including the Arab and Muslim world, is pressuring Hamas to accept the terms that we created together with Trump, to bring back all the hostages — the living and the dead — while the IDF stays in the Strip,” he added.
According to the outline released by the White House, the ceasefire proposal does not envision a permanent Israeli military occupation of Gaza. It calls for a phased withdrawal that would happen as Gaza “demilitarizes” and the IDF hands over territory it controls to a temporary international force, dubbed the International Stabilization Force (ISF).
The deal calls for Israel to hand over all the territory it occupies to the ISF until it has completely withdrawn from Gaza except for a “security perimeter” along Gaza’s border with Israel. But the deal says that Israel will withdraw from the perimeter once “Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat.”
During negotiations last year, Netanyahu made public declarations that contradicted agreements Israel made in private as an effort to sabotage the chances of a deal. Hamas is currently studying the US-Israeli proposal and has yet to respond.
Netanyahu also said in his video statement that he would not allow the establishment of a Palestinian state. Part of the ceasefire deal says if it is fully implemented, it may lead to a “credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.”
When asked by the person recording the video if he agreed to establish a Palestinian state, Netanyahu said, “Absolutely not. It’s not written in the agreement. We said we would strongly oppose a Palestinian state.”
