Bennett says Gaza is ‘Oslo on steroids,’ demands to know pledges made ‘behind the backs’ of Israelis

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett slams the ceasefire arrangements in Gaza, referring to them as “Oslo on steroids” and demanding the disclosure of concessions Israel made as part of the truce deal.

Bennett, who briefly unseated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2021, is considered his most credible challenger in elections slated to be held next year.

For much of his career in the Knesset, Bennett was a right-wing ally of Netanyahu and a staunch opponent of the Israeli-Palestinian Oslo Accords, which established the Palestinian Authority and gave it day-to-day control over Palestinian population centers in the West Bank.

“Transferring control over our fate to Qatar, which funds Hamas, is Oslo on steroids,” Bennett says in a statement reported by Hebrew media, referring to Qatar’s role as a key broker of last month’s deal, which is meant to end the war in Gaza. The US, which is an ally of Qatar, has stationed personnel at a ceasefire coordination center in Kiryat Gat.

“How did we get to a situation in which our troops need to OK Israeli movements with the American command in Kiryat Gat?” Bennett says. “Israel isn’t a client state. I demand the immediate publication of all commitments and concessions that were made behind the backs of Israeli citizens.”

Netanyahu and US officials have denied that Israel is acting as a client state.