Trump: Hamas will be taken out immediately if they don’t behave

Trump claims to have “made Middle East peace” by pushing Netanyahu to make concessions in Gaza deal talks, says current ceasefire is “very solid.”

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News Staff

President Donald Trump rejected claims that the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Hamas terror organization is “fragile,” while boasting that he has achieved peace in the Middle East.

Trump spoke with CBS‘ 60 Minutes in an interview aired on Sunday, during which he acknowledged his differences with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

When host Norah O’Donnell said Trump had “pushed” Netanyahu into reaching the ceasefire deal with Hamas, the president agreed with her, praising the Israeli leader while also noting his disagreements with him.

“I worked very well with him. Yeah, I mean, I had to push him a little bit one way or the other. I think I did a great job in pushing. He’s a very talented guy. He’s a guy that has never been pushed before, actually,” Trump said.

“I pushed him. I didn’t like certain things that he did, and you saw what I did about that.”

“I made Middle East peace,” he claimed. “For 3,000 years, they couldn’t do it. I did it. And I did it with some very good partners in Israel.”

Trump also threatened to remove the Hamas terror organization from Gaza should the group fail to “behave.”

The president claimed the Gaza truce remains “very solid” despite repeated violations by Hamas forces, including several deadly attacks on Israeli forces.

“It’s not fragile. It’s very solid. You hear about Hamas, but Hamas could be taken out immediately if they don’t behave. They know that. If they don’t behave, they’re gonna be taken out immediately,” Trump said, without laying out red lines for the terror group, which has so far failed to return all of the 48 hostages it held at the outset of the truce.

When asked how the US will ensure Hamas is disarmed, in accordance with the second phase of his own Gaza peace plan, Trump said he could compel the group to hand over its weapons “very quickly,” without elaborating.

“If I want ’em to disarm, I’ll get ’em to disarm very quickly. They’ll be eliminated. They know that. Don’t forget, you said I got the remaining hostages. I got all the hostages out. But I always said the last 10 or 20 are gonna be tough. But we were tough also, and they let ’em all out.”