Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for Hamas to be expelled from the region, a day after the U.N. Security Council endorsed President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war that offers the Palestinian militant group amnesty.
Netanyahu publicly endorsed the plan during a visit to the White House in late September.
The Prime Minister published a series of posts on X in response to the U.N. vote. In one post, he applauded Trump, and in another wrote the Israeli government believes the plan would lead to peace and prosperity because it calls for the “full demilitarization, disarmament, and deradicalization of Gaza.”
“Israel extends its hand in peace and prosperity to all of our neighbors” and calls on neighboring countries to “join us in expelling Hamas and its supporters from the region,” he said.
Asked what the prime minister had meant by expelling Hamas, a spokesperson said that it would mean “ensuring there is no Hamas in Gaza as outlined in the 20-point plan, and Hamas has no ability to govern the Palestinian people inside the Gaza Strip”.
Trump’s 20-point plan includes a clause saying that Hamas members “who commit to peaceful coexistence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty,” and members who wish to leave will be given safe passage to third countries.
Another clause says Hamas will agree to not having any role in Gaza’s governance.
Ahead of the U.N. vote, Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel remained opposed to Palestinian statehood after protests by far-right coalition allies over a U.S.-backed statement indicating support for a pathway to Palestinian independence.
Netanyahu also opposes any Palestinian Authority involvement in Gaza.
The Security Council resolution authorised a multinational force that Trump’s plan says will be temporarily deployed to Gaza to stabilise the territory.
The resolution’s text also states that member states could join a “Board of Peace” that would oversee reconstruction and economic recovery within Gaza.
Hamas has criticised the resolution as failing to “live up to the demands and political and humanitarian rights” of the Palestinian people, who it said rejected an international guardianship mechanism of Gaza.
Any international force must only be deployed along Gaza’s borders to monitor the ceasefire and under U.N. supervision,
Hamas said in a statement, warning that such a force would lose its neutrality if it tried to disarm the militant group.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect on October 10 as part of Trump’s multi-phased plan to end the war.
Reuters/Hauwa M.