Netanyahu: No Reconstruction in Gaza Without Disarmament

SadaNews - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated today, Sunday, that "there will be no reconstruction in Gaza without dismantling and disarming the sector," amidst reports talking about the possibility of the "Peace Council" pushing for plans to reconstruct areas controlled by the Israeli army in Gaza, even without disarming Hamas.

Netanyahu's statements came during the weekly government session, where he said, "There will be no reconstruction in Gaza without dismantling and disarming the designated area," adding that "Gazans must have the freedom of choice: those who want to leave must be able to do so, and those who stay cannot threaten us."

Netanyahu claimed that "the threat from Gaza has been removed," considering that this is evident, according to him, by the "huge demand (for buying apartments and commercial activity) in the Gaza envelope," and added that this reality came as a result of the existence of a "new Gaza envelope within Gaza," referring to the areas controlled by the Israeli army within the sector.

On the Lebanon file, Netanyahu denied what he described as reports that U.S. President Donald Trump asked him not to act against tunnels in Lebanon, saying, "I heard that it was mentioned in the media that President Trump requested not to act against terrorist tunnels in Lebanon. This is a myth, fake news. He did not say anything to me about this, and I did not ask him. We operate based on our considerations."

In this context, the expanded Israeli cabinet meeting on political and security affairs, which was scheduled to convene this evening, has been postponed to next Tuesday, while it is expected that a meeting of the smaller cabinet will convene this evening.

Netanyahu attacked the media in Israel, saying, "Most media channels are political parties," and added that they "receive opposition messages, and sometimes they even fabricate them."

In his attack on his political opponents, Netanyahu said: "When I talk to the Americans about Israeli politics, I say that there is no left-left. Everyone pretends to be right-wing, but they are essentially left-leaning men."

Netanyahu claimed that his opponents in the smaller cabinet said that "Hamas's dictates must be accepted, and to exit the sector, and to retrieve the hostages, and then return to address Gaza after two or three years."

He added: "Those who say: why didn't you achieve 100%? They were ready to accept zero. If I had listened to them and stopped the war, the Iranian axis would have remained at the peak of its power."

Netanyahu said they said, in "private conversations," according to his expression: "We will frame that as an image of victory in the channels." He added: "I rejected that vehemently. I said that if a victory is achieved, there will be an image, but not before that."

In connecting Gaza and Lebanon, Netanyahu said while attacking his opponents: "They preach to us? They gave sovereign maritime areas to Lebanon, while we are entering inside (Lebanese) territory." He added: "There is peace from the standpoint of our strength, and there is surrender from the standpoint of their weakness."