JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said that he would block the establishment of a Palestinian state in Gaza, insisting Israel would maintain security control over both it and the occupied West Bank, despite widening international recognition of Palestinian statehood.
The US-sponsored Gaza ceasefire plan, in effect since October 10, stipulated the return of all the hostages held in the territory under its first phase, and Hamas's disarmament under the second.
"Now we are focused on completing the two remaining tasks: disarming Hamas and demilitarizing Gaza of weapons and tunnels," Netanyahu said during a televised press conference.
He further said that no reconstruction work would take place in Gaza until those two missions were accomplished.
"It will be done the easy way, or it will be done the hard way. But in any case, it will happen.
"I'm hearing even now claims that Gaza's reconstruction will be allowed before demilitarization — this will not happen," Netanyahu said.
Fighters took 251 hostages during the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war. Israeli forces on Monday brought home the last captive.
Though Hamas said the return of Gvili's body showed its commitment to the ceasefire deal, it has so far no plans to lay down its weapons.
In his remarks Tuesday, Netanyahu went on to say that the establishment of a Palestinian state in Gaza "hasn't happened and it will not happen," claiming credit for having "repeatedly blocked" the implementation of a two-state paradigm.
The war in Gaza, which has left much of the territory in ruins, accelerated international calls for Palestinian statehood, with several Western countries last year taking the step of formally recognizing a Palestinian state.
But Netanyahu insisted that Israel would continue to "exercise security control from the Jordan (River) to the sea, and that applies to the Gaza Strip as well."
'Grave mistake'
The premier also alluded to US President Donald Trump's recent remarks on Iran, which he has previously threatened to attack over its deadly crackdown on anti-government protests.
The US has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group to the region, prompting warnings from Iran that it would not hesitate to defend itself.
"President Trump will decide what he decides; the State of Israel will decide what it decides," Netanyahu said.
But, he added, "if Iran makes the grave mistake of attacking Israel, we will respond with a force that Iran has never seen."
Trump told the Axios news site on Monday that the US had "a big armada next to Iran," but that he believed talks were still an option.
"They want to make a deal. I know so. They called on numerous occasions," he said.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian hit out at US "threats" in a call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday, saying they were "aimed at disrupting the security of the region."
Israel fought a 12-day war with Iran last June that saw it strike military targets across the country and kill a number of the Islamic republic's senior military leaders and nuclear scientists.
Iran responded with ballistic missile attacks targeting Israeli cities.
The US briefly joined in with strikes on key nuclear facilities before declaring a ceasefire.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)