Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he would only end the war in Gaza if all Palestinians were expelled from the strip.
At a press conference in Jerusalem, Netanyahu on Wednesday said that he was “ready to end the war” but will only do so “under clear conditions that will ensure the safety of Israel”.
The Times of Israel reported that Netanyahu listed the following conditions:
- All the hostages come home
- Hamas lays down its arms, steps down from power, its leadership is exiled, and Gaza is completely disarmed
- Implementation of the Trump plan
Netanyahu said that the plan was “so correct and so revolutionary”.
Earlier this year, Trump announced that the United States would take over Gaza after expulsion of all Palestinians living there. He said he would acquire Gaza to develop it into “Riviera of the East”. Netanyahu endorsed the plan. If implemented, the plan would kill the two-state solution as Gaza, one half of the envisioned Palestinian state, would essentially become a US colony.
While Netanyahu has pitched the expulsion of Palestinians and the US takeover of Gaza as the solution to end the war, independent observers have said that expulsion of a native population and their land’s takeover by an external party would amount to ethnic cleansing.
