Netanyahu: Israel would give Hamas leaders safe passage if they end the war, free all hostages freed; thinks PA reform won’t happen

Speaking to Fox News about Washington’s 21-point plan for ending the war in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel would allow Hamas leaders safe passage if they end the war and release all the hostages, while reiterating his rejection of the Palestinian Authority as a viable ruler of postwar Gaza.

Ahead of his planned meeting with US President Donald Trump tomorrow, Netanyahu stresses that “the details of this have to be worked out,” while telling the network that “if Hamas leaders finish the war, release all the hostages, we let them out.”

“That is something that I’ve said in the past, but it has to be worked out. All of that, I think, is part of the plan. I’m not going to preempt it, because we’re having these discussions exactly right now,” he adds.

Netanyahu also reaffirms his long-standing opposition to the PA governing Gaza after the war — a stance he strongly restated last week at the United Nations General Assembly.

Doubting the PA’s ability to abandon incitement and terror financing, he says: “I haven’t changed my positions, and I think that the credibility or the likelihood of the things — a reformed Palestinian Authority that changes completely its stripes, that accepts the Jewish state, that teaches its children to embrace coexistence… If all that is turned on its head… well, good luck. Some people will believe it happens. I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

Under the US plan, revealed by The Times of Israel, once the hostages are freed, Hamas members who commit to peaceful coexistence would be granted amnesty, while those who wish to leave Gaza would receive safe passage to third countries.

The proposal also outlines a potential pathway to a future Palestinian state, contingent on Gaza’s redevelopment and a comprehensive reform of the Palestinian Authority.