Netanyahu: Trump’s post-war Gaza vision ‘much better for Israel’; vows to use fire as needed to protect Gaza border

At the start of a cabinet meeting hours after his return from Washington, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declares that his meetings with US President Donald Trump, and his other US meetings, resulted in “tremendous achievements that can ensure Israel’s security for generations.”

“I am not exaggerating,” he says. “I am not exaggerating. There are opportunities here for possibilities that I think we never dreamed of, or at least until a few months ago, they did not seem possible — but they are possible.”

While he does not give specific details of the possibilities, Trump has spoken about his vision of the US taking over Gaza after the war, clearing it of its residents and turning it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” Israeli and US officials have insisted that the displacement would be both voluntary and temporary, despite Trump initially saying that it would be a permanent measure. Netanyahu said at the weekend that Gazans would be able to return after being screened and disavowing terrorism.

He says Trump highlighted Israel’s achievement “in breaking the Iranian axis.”

Netanyahu says that Trump agreed with him that “all the goals of the war that we set must be completed: eliminating Hamas, returning all our hostages, ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel, bringing back all the residents in the north and the south, and of course preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.”

Referring to Trump’s plan for post-war Gaza, Netanyahu says that the president came up with a “revolutionary, creative vision” that will “open up many possibilities” for Israel.

While Israel had been constantly told that the PA is needed in post-war Gaza, Trump’s vision is “completely different, and much better for the State of Israel.” It is “revolutionary, creative and we are discussing it. He is very determined to carry it out. And it also opens up many possibilities for us.”

Praising the visit once again as a “historic turning point for the State of Israel,” Netanyahu ends his remarks by reiterating Israel’s commitment to “enforcing the ceasefire agreements” in Lebanon and Gaza. Sometimes the use of fire is required, he says — in the south and the north.

His instruction this evening, he says, “is that nobody gets to the perimeter area, and nobody penetrates the perimeter” — this after the IDF opened fire on Palestinians who approached the Israel-Gaza border earlier today. “That’s part of the agreement and we will enforce it, enforce it forcefully. We expect Hamas to stand by all its commitments, and this is one of them.”