Netanyahu lays out principles for victory and ending Hamas war

Netanyahu said earlier in the week that Israel would only agree to end the war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip in exchange for a deal freeing all remaining hostages.

By JNS

On Thursday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outlined his government’s conditions for ending the war against Hamas in Gaza.

“One week ago, I convened the Cabinet and we set five principles for ending the war,” Netanyahu said in Hebrew remarks, referencing the Aug. 8 decision to order the military to take control of Gaza City.

Netanyahu went on to list the five conditions for victory, including the full disarmament of Hamas; the return of all 50 remaining hostages kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023; the demilitarization of the entire Strip; security control of Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces; and establishing “an alternative civilian administration” in the enclave.

“These five principles will ensure Israel’s security. This is the meaning of the word ‘victory,’” declared the leader of the Jewish state. “This is what we are working toward, and everyone should internalize this.”

Israel seeks the release of “both the living and the deceased,” Netanyahu again stressed in his remarks, adding: “We will not give up on anyone.”

The war will only end once “no weapons are manufactured in Gaza and no weapons are smuggled into Gaza,” according to the prime minister.

The new Gaza government—not to be run by Hamas or the Palestinian Authority—will be handled by “people who don’t educate their children to terror, will not fund terrorism and won’t dispatch terrorists,” he said.

In separate English-language remarks on Thursday night, Netanyahu accused Western countries of pursuing a policy of appeasement, just like before World War II, “the Western countries tried to appease Hitler.

“He said, ‘Just give me a piece of Czechoslovakia, and I’ll make peace with you,’ and they cowed, and they bowed, and they yielded,” he said.

“You know what happened next. Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia and then started the worst war in the history of the world, World War 2.”

“Well, today the West is telling Israel, ‘Just give the Palestinians a piece of Israel and they’ll make peace with you.’ No, they won’t,” continued the premier.

“So, we’re not going to commit national suicide. We will not bow to foreign critics who lack the courage to face their own enemies, yet lecture us on how to face ours.”

“We will not reward terror. We will defeat it. And the Jewish people will live free, strong, eternal, in our land,” the Jewish leader concluded.

‘There is no going back’

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a senior member of Netanyahu’s coalition who has criticized the Cabinet decision for not seeking the occupation of the entire Strip, in a statement commended the prime minister on Thursday for outlining “very correct and just principles.

“But you are missing one important one—perhaps the most important—no stopping until victory!” the Religious Zionism Party leader stated.

David Barnea, director of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, met on Thursday with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani in Doha.

According to Israel Hayom, they discussed possibly restarting talks for a hostage agreement with Hamas terrorists.

However, an Israeli political source told Kan News that Barnea traveled to Doha “on Mossad-related matters, not regarding the negotiations for a hostage deal.”

He also made clear to Sheikh Mohammed that a partial deal, one where only some of the hostages held in Gaza are recovered, was off the table, according to the source cited by Kan.

Netanyahu said earlier in the week that Israel would only agree to end the war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip in exchange for a deal freeing all remaining hostages.

“As part of the discussion on our terms—the release of all the hostages, both the living and the dead—we are at the stage of a single deal; there is no going back,” he said.

Israel continues to seek to negotiate a deal that would include the release of all remaining hostages, an end to the war, a full withdrawal of the IDF and arrangements for post-war management, Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Tuesday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.

In an overnight announcement on Tuesday, Hamas confirmed that a delegation led by senior leader Khalil al-Hayya had traveled to Cairo at the invitation of the Egyptian government to hold talks with top officials.

Taher al-Nunu, a Hamas official, said meetings would focus on “ways to stop the war in the Strip, bring in aid, end the suffering of the people in Gaza, address intra-Palestinian relations to reach national agreements on all political issues and discuss bilateral relations with Egypt.”

Of the 50 hostages who remain in captivity, 20 to 22 are believed to be alive after being taken during the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.