Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked US President Donald Trump for his support of Israel and affirmed his approval of US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff’s ceasefire framework proposal during a Sunday evening government meeting.
Netanyahu’s statements came after Israel’s ceasefire deal with Hamas expired, and the terror group rejected Witkoff’s proposal for a new ceasefire framework. Netanyahu also criticized Hamas for their decision to reject the offer.Â
Netanyahu said that during his recent visit to Washington, he expressed that Trump is “the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House,” and that “President Trump shows that friendship each and every day.”Â
Regarding Witkoff’s ceasefire framework, Netanyahu affirmed that Israel has accepted the plan “to extend the temporary ceasefire by 50 days, during that time we can discuss the conditions for a permanent ceasefire that will end the war in Gaza.”
“In Witkoff’s plan, half of the hostages would be released right away, and the remaining half would be released if we reach an agreement on a permanent ceasefire. Again, Israel has accepted this plan. I accepted this plan. But so far, Hamas has rejected it,” he emphasized.Â
Netanyahu calls Hamas’s proposals ‘totally unacceptable’Â
“Hamas had also put forward positions for a permanent ceasefire that are totally unacceptable,” Netanyahu added.Â
Netanyahu then addressed the humanitarian aid that Israel stopped sending into Gaza at the end of the ceasefire.Â
“Israel has decided to stop letting goods and supplies into Gaza, something we’ve done for the past 42 days. We’ve done that [stopped bringing supplies] because Hamas steals the supplies and prevents the people of Gaza from getting it,” he explained.
“It [Hamas] uses these supplies to finance its terror machine, which is aimed directly at Israel and our civilians – and this we cannot accept,” Netanyahu continued.Â
“We will take further steps if Hamas continues to hold our hostages. Throughout this, Israel knows that America and President Trump have our back. Thank you again, President Trump! Thank you for all you are doing to return our hostages, bolster our security, and provide a future of prosperity and peace for all the peoples of the Middle East,” Netanyahu stated.Â
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;
n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,’script’,
‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);
fbq(‘init’, ‘1730128020581377’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
