Lapid touts ‘symbolic importance’ of upcoming Knesset vote to endorse Trump’s Gaza plan

Doubling down on his demand that the Knesset adopt US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the Gaza conflict, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid declares that there it is symbolically important for “all factions of the house” to back American proposal and thereby say that “we stand behind these steps, behind the idea of ending the war.”

Speaking at a conference organized by the Israel Democracy Institute in Jerusalem, Lapid says the plan had been presented to the Israeli public as solely a hostage deal instead of as “a full and complete outline that puts us on the path toward an arrangement for what happens in Gaza.”

Israel, Hamas, and the Egyptian, Qatari, and American mediators signed an agreement regarding the first phase of the ceasefire, but not Trump’s 20-point plan, which explicitly calls for Hamas to give up its arms and any semblance of rule. The plan also says that the end of hostilities could lead to “a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.”

Lapid announced yesterday that he will bring a motion before the Knesset next week to adopt Trump’s “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict.”

Given the plan’s reference to Palestinian statehood, it is likely that the coalition will vote down Lapid’s motion, embarrassing the government vis-à-vis Trump.

Addressing the IDI conference, Lapid complains that Hamas is rebuilding its strength and reiterates his call to involve Egypt in the security of the Gaza Strip.

“We know how to cooperate with the Egyptians. After all, for nearly a decade, we’ve been fighting ISIS in Sinai in cooperation with Egypt. Egypt controlled Gaza for 19 years. We have experience working with them, and as mentioned, they are ideological enemies of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is the parent movement of Hamas,” he says.