Prime Minister Netanyahu told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Monday, just days after Israel submitted a plan through mediators, that Israel would not agree to a permanent end to the war before its goals were met, although it was open to a temporary halt as mentioned in the proposal.
"Israel can stop the fighting for 42 days to return the captives. But we cannot stop the war. The Iranians and all our enemies are watching us, wanting to see if we will surrender. There is a lot of fake news going on." He also noted that he would agree to halt all military activities for 16 days of the 42 days to allow for talks on the second phase of the deal.
Netanyahu also commented on the civilian pilot program that Defense Minister Gallant presented to the War Cabinet: "The entities that will govern civilly will not be the Palestinian Authority or Hamas, but rather local forces." Netanyahu clarified that the IDF will protect and enable the pilot program said to Netanyahu: "Stage 1 of the deal is troubling also because of the return of the terrorists to the Strip and the terrorists who will be released, including the Nukhba terrorists [Hamas' elite forces who invaded Israel on Oct. 7]." Netanyahu denied the part about Nukhba terrorists being released and said: "The Nukhba terrorists will not be released. That's ridiculous."
