How Did Israeli Officials Respond to Trump's Proposal to End the War on Gaza?

SadaNews - A number of Israeli officials responded to U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to end the war on Gaza, ahead of his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scheduled for the upcoming Monday at the White House.

Foreign Minister Gidion Sa'ar expressed his "confidence" in Netanyahu to represent Israeli interests as required in the talks with Trump, adding, "After two years of war, Israel's national interest is to end the war and achieve its goals."

Finance Minister, far-right Bezalel Smotrich, laid out three conditions to Netanyahu for ending the war, including "not allowing the Palestinian Authority, the elimination of Hamas, a real disarmament, and enforcing sovereignty in Judea and Samaria (the occupied West Bank) without establishing a Palestinian state."

Meanwhile, National Security Minister, far-right Itamar Ben Gvir, addressed Netanyahu saying, "You do not have a mandate to end the war without the absolute defeat of Hamas."

As for the leader of the "Degel HaTorah" party, Moshe Gafni, he stated, "Our position supports ending the war and securing the return of the captives."

On the other hand, opposition leader Yair Lapid said, "I informed the U.S. administration today that Netanyahu has a safety net for concluding a prisoner exchange deal and ending the war," indicating that he "has a majority in the Knesset and a majority in the country, so there is no need to be enthusiastic about Ben Gvir and Smotrich's empty threats."

In this context, there is a prevailing perception around Netanyahu that Israel will be required to make painful concessions under Trump's plan, with expectations that it will be asked to engage the Palestinian Authority in some gradual manner as part of efforts to enlist Arab countries in a regional effort to implement the settlement. At the same time, significant pressure is being exerted by Washington on Qatar to convince Hamas to agree to release all Israeli captives at once, according to Israeli Channel 12 on Saturday evening.

Trump's proposal principles stipulate an immediate end to the war, whereby Hamas would release Israeli captives within 48 hours in exchange for Tel Aviv releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences, in addition to a gradual withdrawal of the army from Gazan territories, all under U.S. guarantees before proceeding with the arrangements for the day after the war ends.

One of the highlights from Trump's proposal for the day after the war includes forming a technocratic transitional government in Gaza with American-Arab cooperation, until the reforms in the Palestinian Authority are completed. It is also expected that international entities will train Palestinian police forces to take over the responsibility of maintaining security.

Furthermore, Trump will demand Netanyahu not to annex lands in Gaza and to gradually hand over the territories controlled by the army to local and international forces taking over control, in addition to prompting a pathway towards a Palestinian state and starting direct political dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians; according to Channel 12.