“PA will not run Gaza,” Netanyahu ruled out any possibility of a ceasefire

As part of a joint press conference, Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Minister Benny Gantz rejected growing international criticism about war civilian costs, encouraging Western leaders to rally behind the Jewish state since victory would also mean victory for the entire free world.

 

He also ruled out the possibility of the Palestinian Authority (PA) controlling Gaza, saying, “There will not be a civil authority there that educates their children to hate Israel, to kill Israelis, or to eliminate Israel, so ,  cannot be an authority there that pays the families of murderers. There cannot be an authority who didn’t condemn the massacre. There will have to be something else, but in any case, our security control. I stand by it and don’t intend to give up.”

 

Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich thanked Netanyahu for the “clear statements on the PA not controlling Gaza. Following the cabinet’s decision in the discussion, I demanded the PA’s funds be frozen. The PA is a body that supports and encourages terrorism and we will never again abandon the security of our citizens to the hands of our enemies. It is good that these words are said in a clear voice by the prime minister of Israel.”

“Don’t cave to the pressure”

“Don’t cave to the pressure,” said Netanyahu. “Our war is your war. Israel has to win for its own sake and for the world.”

No matter what, “no international pressure, no false allegations about IDF soldiers and our state,” the prime minister said, will impact Israel’s insistence on protecting itself.

Israel will “stand firm against the world, if necessary,” Netanyahu asserted.

 

Regarding hostages, he said, “When I meet with the representatives of the families, I feel their pain, the nightmare, and I tell them – ‘We will do everything to return them.’ Regarding the abductees, the directive is clear, there will be no ceasefire without the return of the hostages. There are international contacts for their release, which is carried out by Mossad with the assistance of Maj.-Gen. Nitzan Alon, and when we have something to say, concrete things, we will inform the families.”

More than 11 thousand people have been killed

On the meetings of Arab countries and their statements, he said, 

“Leaders who care about the future of the Middle East, I say one thing – you must stand up against Hamas. In its 16 years of tyranny, Hamas brought disaster to Gaza and brought blood and poverty to the residents of the Gaza Strip. Hamas is an integral part of the terrorist axis. The axis of terror and evil that endangers the entire world and the entire Arab world, I am convinced that many Arab leaders understand this,” he concluded.

 

More to read: French President urged leaders to join his pleas for a ceasefire in Gaza

 

On the other side, in Gaza, more than 11 thousand people have been killed, and thousands are injured. The Israeli forces are in the streets of Gaza, surrounding hospitals and homes. The people of  Gaza are forced to leave their places as water and other initial ingredients for survival are running short.