by Keshet Neev
Netanyahu said Israel was approaching “Phase II” of the Trump plan, which is the next stage of the US-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Monday that no Turkish or Qatari soldiers would be present in Gaza, stating that Israel has a “certain dispute” with the United States over the issue.
Netanyahu made the remarks during a heated 40-signature debate in the Knesset plenum and following US President Donald Trump’s recent announcement of the formation of the Gaza Board of Peace, which includes Turkish and Qatari representation.
“Turkish or Qatari soldiers will not be in the Strip,” the prime minister asserted.
“We have a certain dispute with our friends in the United States regarding the composition of the advisory council that will accompany the processes in Gaza,” he told the plenum.
Netanyahu said Israel was approaching “Phase II” of the Trump plan, though Israel is still awaiting the return of slain hostage Ran Gvili’s remains, as stipulated in the first stage of the agreement.
Netanyahu confirms Gaza Strip will remain free of foreign troops
“Phase II means one simple thing: Hamas will be disarmed, and Gaza will be demilitarized,” he said.
“We are committed to these goals, and they will be achieved, either the hard way or the easy way,” the prime minister added.
Netanyahu also warned Tehran against attacking Israel.
“If Iran makes a mistake and attacks us, we will respond with a force it has never known,” he said.
Opposition
leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) sharply criticized Netanyahu following
his remarks, accusing him of being sidelined by Trump.
“President Trump announced, over your head, the composition of the governing committee of Gaza,” Lapid said.
“The hosts of Hamas in Istanbul and Doha, Hamas’s ideological partners, were invited to run Gaza.”
He also criticized the formation of a technocrats’ committee tasked with managing daily life in Gaza.
“I know you are trying to downplay this, but the dominant factor in the committee is the Palestinian Authority,” he said.
Regarding the Board of Peace announcement, Lapid said there were “two options,” for how its composition was decided.
“Either you agreed behind our backs that Turkey, Qatar, and the Palestinian Authority would be in Gaza, or Trump does not take you seriously at all,” the opposition leader told the prime minister.
“Trump has figured out your operating mechanism. He understands that you are in an election year and that you are afraid of losing,” Lapid jabbed.
“So if he invites you to a party, with a few nice words and a big hug in front of the cameras, he can fold you on the most vital security interests of the State of Israel,” Lapid said, remarking on Netanyahu’s recent trip to visit Trump in Florida, where the prime minister attended a party with the president on New Year’s.
The 40-signature debate was opened by MK Mansour Abbas, the chairperson of Ra’am (the United Arab List).
The debate was titled “The government’s ongoing failure to eradicate violence and crime in the Arab sector.” Under Knesset rules, such a debate can be initiated by the opposition and requires the prime minister’s attendance.
“We requested this debate due to the rise in rates of violence and crime in Israel, particularly within Arab society,” Abbas told the plenum.
“The government is failing to rise to the level of the challenge and, regrettably, is abandoning the lives of the country’s citizens, Jews and Arabs alike.”
Abbas sharply criticized National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for the spike in crime in Arab communities.
Blue and White chairperson MK Benny Gantz also weighed in when he addressed the plenum, telling Netanyahu that “every minute Itamar Ben-Gvir is in his role [as national security minister], Israel is in danger. You know this.”
The prime minister rejected the criticism, remarking, “In complete contrast to what was said here, I and the government I lead view this issue as a central national challenge.
“We have transferred budgets to Arab local authorities responsibly, built an oversight framework, and created a reliable and transparent funding mechanism.
“Criminal organizations are terrorist organizations in every respect, and we will wage an all-out war against them,” he added.
Netanyahu accused the previous government, which was led by Lapid and former prime minister Naftali Bennett, of exacerbating crime in Arab communities.
“You changed the funding method for Arab communities and dismantled the oversight mechanisms we put in place,” the prime minister said. “You allowed criminal organizations to take over local authorities,” he said.
According to a December report by the Abraham Initiatives, 2025 was the deadliest year so far for Arab society in Israel.
Keshet Neev
Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-883875
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