Each deployment of International Stabilization Force personnel into Gaza will require the approval of the prime minister, defense minister, and foreign minister.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israel’s Security Cabinet approved the entry of the International Stabilization Force into the Gaza Strip on Sunday, authorizing its deployment under conditions that require continued Israeli oversight and coordination with the Israel Defense Forces.

According to a senior Israeli official, the preliminary approval is part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan, which led to the release of all the hostages.

Israeli officials emphasized that the IDF will continue to hold the Yellow Line and that no withdrawal will take place until Hamas has been disarmed and the Gaza Strip fully demilitarized.

The Cabinet also approved granting the International Stabilization Force immunity under Israel’s Immunities of International Organizations Law. The force will operate in full coordination with the IDF in areas beyond the Yellow Line and in locations not under Israeli military control.

Under the decision, each deployment of International Stabilization Force personnel into Gaza will require approval from the prime minister, defense minister, and foreign minister.

Israel will also determine which countries may contribute troops. At this stage, the force is expected to include about 200 representatives from friendly nations, including Uganda and Morocco.

The proposal prompted differing views within the Cabinet.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar backed the plan, describing it as “an international plan.”

“It may be that we will not succeed, but we should not be the ones who destroy it,” Sa’ar said during the Cabinet meeting.

Minister Ze’ev Elkin said the move was consistent with an earlier government decision to bring international forces into Gaza following the release of the hostages.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir cast the lone vote against the measure. He argued that Hamas had failed to fulfill its commitments to demilitarize the Gaza Strip and surrender its weapons.

“Therefore, we are not obligated to it either,” Ben-Gvir said.

He added that he had opposed the 20-point plan from the outset and maintained that “the solution in Gaza is to encourage emigration.”

Minister Orit Strock said “the only good thing here is the international consensus,” but argued that the other side had failed to uphold its commitments.

“If the new Gaza is established, it will be remembered with disgrace,” she said.

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Vice President JD Vance delivered a sharp message to Israeli officials criticizing the Iran deal, urging them not to antagonize “Israel’s only ally.”

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“We all hope the Persian nation will soon be freed from the yoke of tyranny, and when that day comes, Israel and Iran will again be partners.”

By World Israel News Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel hopes for a future of peace with Iran, linking his remarks to the ongoing mass protests against the Islamic Republic’s ruling regime.

Speaking at the weekly Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said Israel stands with what he described as the “brave and courageous citizens of Iran,” adding that “the moment the regime falls, we will do good things together for both peoples.”

“We all hope that the Persian nation will soon be freed from the yoke of tyranny,” he said. “When that day comes, Israel and Iran will return to being faithful partners in building a future of prosperity and peace.”

Netanyahu’s comments came amid reports of a severe escalation in the regime’s crackdown on protesters. Dissident groups claimed over the weekend that at least 2,000 demonstrators were killed by Iranian security forces during a 48-hour period, as authorities intensified the use of lethal force against what is described as the largest anti-regime protest movement in years.

Against the backdrop of escalating unrest in Iran and increasingly explicit threats of U.S. military action by President Donald Trump, Netanyahu is expected to hold a security discussion later Sunday evening with senior defense and intelligence officials.

According to Israeli officials, the meeting was scheduled in advance of the weekend’s events and is intended to address multiple regional arenas, though developments in Iran are expected to feature prominently in the deliberations.

The prime minister’s remarks echoed longstanding Israeli messaging that distinguishes between Iran’s ruling clerical establishment and the Iranian public, framing the current unrest as a potential turning point for the country and the broader Middle East.

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The cabinet resolved that when aid is allowed through in the future, it will be with the assurance that it will not reach Hamas.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

The Israeli cabinet on Thursday decided not to permit the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza for the near future.

However, the cabinet resolved that when aid is allowed through in the future, it would be with the assurance that it will not reach Hamas.

During the meeting, several ministers called for an escalation of military operations in Gaza to put pressure on Hamas to release the hostages.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev told IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, “We can’t continue like this. We’re stagnating there.”

Chief of Staff Zamir replied: “I disagree with you that we are treading water. There are currently thousands of soldiers fighting in Gaza.”

Regev replied, “We must increase military pressure on Hamas so they will release the hostages.”

Israel is concerned that allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza will strengthen Hamas.

‘There were reports about a month ago that Hamas has earned as much as $500,000 by selling the humanitarian aid it looted from the international organizations. With this money, it pays salaries to its remaining members and manages to mobilize new ones,’ Professor Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies and a senior fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security, told the TPS-IL news agency.

According to Michael, Hamas continues to take control of at least 50 percent of all the humanitarian aid that enters Gaza.

Israel inspects the trucks carrying humanitarian aid before they enter the Gaza Strip. Once they are on the other side of the fence, they should be taken over by international organizations that distribute the aid. But these organizations cannot manage the enormous amount of aid being sent to Gaza,” Michael explained.

“Lots of trucks are being looted by Hamas even before they get into the hands of humanitarian organizations. The army recorded a conversation of two Hamas operatives in which they were complaining their warehouses are so full they don’t have where to store the aid – this is the extent of the problem,” he said.

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The Cabinet approved three statements, signaling to the United Nations that it will not consider any resolution on the matter binding.

By JNS

The Israeli government on Wednesday unanimously approved a proposal to oppose a U.N. resolution promoting recognition of a Palestinian state.

“No reward will be given for the terrible massacre of Oct. 7, which 80% of the Palestinians, both in the West Bank and in Gaza, support,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who initiated the proposal. “We will not allow them to establish a terrorist state from which they can attack us even more,” he added.

“No one will prevent us, Israel, from exercising our basic right to defend ourselves—not the U.N. General Assembly and not any other entity. We will stand together with our heads held high to defend our country,” he added.

The Cabinet approved three statements, signaling to the United Nations that it will not consider any resolution on the matter binding.

First, to “Reject the decision of the United Nations General Assembly of May 10, 2024 to upgrade the status of the Palestinian Authority and give it additional powers that are usually reserved for the member states of the United Nations.”

Second, “To state that the aforementioned decision does not change the status of the disputed areas, does not confer any rights, and does not detract from any rights of the State of Israel and the Jewish people in the Land of Israel.”

Finally, “To state that the aforementioned decision will not form a basis for future negotiations and has no purpose in promoting a peaceful solution.”

The government decision comes less than a week after the U.N. General Assembly voted 143-9 to give the Palestinians unprecedented rights for a non-member observer state, though stopping short of granting Palestinians full U.N. membership.

The resolution, which the United Arab Emirates pushed and which drew 25 abstentions in Friday’s vote, came after Washington’s veto last month of a UNSC resolution that would have accepted the Palestinian Authority’s long-dormant 2011 application for full membership in the global body.

The new rights do not give the Palestinians a vote in the General Assembly or seats in U.N. bodies, such as the Security Council.

The United States, Israel, Argentina, Chechia, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Papua New Guinea voted against the resolution. The United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and Ukraine were among the notable abstentions.

During his speech prior to the vote, Gilad Erdan, the Israeli U.N. ambassador, shredded a copy of the U.N. Charter. He suggested that the General Assembly was circumventing the institution’s founding principles in granting exceptional status to the Palestinians.

The General Assembly was voting to “advance the establishment of a Palestinian terror state, which will be led by the Hitler of our times,” he said. Holding up a picture of Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar, he cited polls indicating that Hamas would take control in Judea and Samaria should new Palestinian elections be held.

“Soon-to-be-president Yahya Sinwar, tyrant of the state of Hamas, sponsored by the United Nations,” he said.

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The U.S. and its Arab partners are ‘rushing’ to finalize a plan to establish a Palestinian state, which could be announced in the next few weeks.

By Charles Bybelezer, JNS

The Israeli Cabinet on Sunday approved a statement rejecting any unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood, amid reports the Biden administration is considering such a move.

“In light of remarks that have been heard recently in the international community about an attempt to unilaterally force a Palestinian state on Israel, today I submit for government approval a declarative decision on the issue. I am certain that it will receive very broad support,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the beginning of Sunday’s weekly Cabinet meeting.

His office subsequently released the text of the statement:

1. Israel utterly rejects international diktats regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians. A settlement, if it is to be reached, will come about solely through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions.

2. Israel will continue to oppose unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. Such recognition in the wake of the October 7th massacre would be a massive and unprecedented reward to terrorism and would prevent any future peace settlement.

According to Ynet, Netanyahu coordinated the statement with War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz and Cabinet Minister Gideon Sa’ar.

Sa’ar said that the reported U.S. proposal for a “firm timeline” on the creation of a Palestinian state “would be like the sacrificing of Czechoslovakia in 1938,” referring to the Munich Agreement and West’s attempted appeasement of Hitler prior to WWII and the Holocaust.

Energy Minister Eli Cohen, who was foreign minister until last month, told Army Radio that “if the price of expanding [the Abraham Accords] is a Palestinian state, then I’ll give up on the peace agreements.”

He was referring to the 2020 Trump administration-brokered deals that normalized relations between Israel and four Arab countries—the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.

Speaking at the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations annual conference in Jerusalem on Sunday, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew seemed to downplay reports that Washington is considering recognizing a Palestinian state.

“Underscoring everything is that Israel must be secure. This means that Israel must be responsible for defending itself, and there cannot be a militarized Palestinian state,” Lew stated.

However, “if the normalization conversation with Saudi Arabia is to be achieved, there must be an over-the-horizon process that includes a vision for a demilitarized Palestinian state,” he added.

On Thursday, The Washington Post reported that the Biden administration was preparing to make a major push for Palestinian statehood. According to the report, the U.S. and its Arab partners are “rushing” to finalize a plan to establish a Palestinian state, which could be announced in the next few weeks if a deal to release the remaining 134 hostages held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza in exchange for a six-week pause in the war takes effect before the start of Ramadan next month.

During an address to the nation on Saturday night, Netanyahu doubled down on his opposition to such eventuality, describing it as a reward for terrorism.

“An arrangement will be achieved only by direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions. Under my leadership, Israel will continue to strongly oppose unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state,” the prime minister said.

“And when do they want to give such unilateral recognition? After the terrible massacre of Oct. 7. There can be no greater and unprecedented prize to terrorism, which will also prevent any future peace agreement,” he added.

Hours later, Netanyahu’s office released a statement describing as “fake news” an Israel Hayom report claiming he was considering a “de facto” agreement with Washington to recognize a Palestinian state in exchange for normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia.

On Sunday, a senior source in the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed to JNS that there was no truth to the Israel Hayom report.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Riyadh would suffice with a declared Israeli commitment to the two-state solution in order to normalize ties with Jerusalem as part of a broad agreement including a defense pact with the United States.

Citing three unnamed sources, the report said the Saudis are eyeing a deal before the U.S. presidential election in November, and that Israel’s war against Hamas had not entirely derailed diplomatic efforts.

Days later, Riyadh clarified that it would not establish diplomatic relations with Israel until there is a Palestinian state, an end to the war against Hamas and a complete military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

The Saudis froze U.S.-backed normalization negotiations shortly after Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre sparked the current war.

According to the most recent “Peace Index” survey released by Tel Aviv University, when asked whether they supported the creation of a “Palestinian” state alongside Israel, 66% of Jewish respondents said they opposed such a move while 27% expressed support for the creation of a “Palestine.”

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