Netanyahu insists Hamas must be disarmed as US considers postponing Gaza demilitarization

Netanyahu: “This area will be demilitarized and Hamas will be disarmed — either the easy way or the hard way.”

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu countered a media report claiming the United States was considering dropping its insistence that Hamas be stripped of its weapons as part of Gaza’s postwar framework, and insisted that, if necessary, Israel Defense Forces would complete the task.

Channel 13, citing an unnamed Israeli source, said the White House was weighing whether to advance reconstruction even without a clear mechanism for demilitarizing the territory, citing the difficulty of finding countries willing to deploy ground forces.

Netanyahu said suggestions that the Strip would avoid disarmament were unacceptable. “There will be no such thing,” he said, adding that “in the 20-point plan, and in any other case, this area will be demilitarized and Hamas will be disarmed — either the easy way or the hard way,” he said in a Cabinet meeting. “That is what I have said, and that is what President Trump has also said.”

The comments came as ministers prepared for a UN Security Council session expected to consider revised language in President Donald Trump’s postwar proposal.

The updated draft reportedly includes a reference to a two-state outcome, a formulation Israel opposes.

Netanyahu said Israel’s stance on the issue had not shifted. “Our opposition to a Palestinian state anywhere west of the Jordan River exists, is firm, and has not changed whatsoever,” he said. He noted that he had resisted similar pressure for decades, whether from abroad or within Israel’s political system.

Defense Minister Israel Katz issued his own statement reinforcing the government’s line. “Israel’s policy is clear: There will be no Palestinian state,” he said. Katz also pledged that Hamas would be disarmed on both sides of the Yellow Line — the demarcation Israel withdrew behind on October 10 under the ceasefire and hostage-release agreement.

He said the IDF would handle disarmament on the Israeli-controlled side, while either the International Stabilization Force or Israeli troops would deal with remaining Hamas infrastructure in “old Gaza.”

Meanwhile, Kan public broadcaster reported that Israeli diplomats and Netanyahu aides were engaged in urgent talks with Arab partners and associates of President Donald Trump in an effort to reshape the Security Council draft before it reaches a vote.