From the Liveblog of
Monday, February 26, 2024
Netanyahu to Fox News: Israel has a plan to evacuate civilians in Rafah ‘out of harm’s way’
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
Speaking on the “Fox and Friends” morning show, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel has a plan to evacuate civilians from Rafah before an expected IDF operation there.
Netanyahu says “we do have a combined plan of evacuating civilians out of harm’s way and destroying those battalions [in Rafah]… we’ll get the population out,” he promises, while also achieving “total victory.”
“They’ll have the opportunity to leave,” he says of the more than one million civilians sheltering in the southernmost city in Gaza.
On Doha talks for a hostage deal, Netanyahu says that Hamas has “outlandish demands.”
“They have to come back to reality,” he says, adding “they’re not in town yet.”
Netanyahu also tells the Fox News morning show that the Israeli people are “united as never before in saying that what we will not accept is a Palestinian state that endangers Israel.”
“This is not my personal position, this is the position of the people of Israel,” says Netanyahu, responding to a question about California Governor Gavin Newsom’s comment yesterday about the prime minister “doubling down on stupid” in his opposition to a Palestinian state.
The people of Israel, says Netanyahu, “are not stupid,” adding that Gaza was a “de facto” Palestinian state, and it was used to kill, rape, and kidnap Israelis. Giving the Palestinians a state that could threaten Israel, says Netanyahu, would “set a Guinness world record” in rewarding terrorism.
US President Joe Biden and his administration have insisted recently that the war in Gaza must end with a pathway to a Palestinian state if Israel wishes to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia and achieve true peace.
Netanyahu says during the interview that he “appreciates Biden’s support” and stresses that the two leaders agree on the aims of the war.
