Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday that moving forward with the 21-clause post-war plan put forth by President Donald Trump is entirely contingent upon the prior release of all Israeli hostages held in Gaza, asserting that Israel will assume responsibility for demilitarizing the Strip and precluding any role for the Palestinian Authority in its future governance.
Netanyahu made the comments with families of the Forum of Heroism, which comprises families who lost loved ones in the October 7 massacre and the Iron Swords war.
During the meeting, the prime minister clarified that "we will not proceed to any of the 21 clauses of the Trump plan until the first clause – the release of all the hostages, living and deceased, until the last of the hostages, every single one of them, has crossed into Israeli territory – we will not proceed to any other clause." Netanyahu also stated that "the Palestinian Authority will not govern Gaza the day after. No representative of Hamas and no representative of the Palestinian Authority will be involved in controlling the Gaza Strip," and that "Israel will be responsible for and involved in the demilitarization of weapons in the Strip."
Netanyahu also conveyed during the meeting that "if the hostages are not released by the deadline that President Donald Trump set – Israel will return to fighting with the full support of all the involved countries." Netanyahu further noted that "in the most recent operation, we succeeded in changing the situation from one in which Israel was isolated to one in which Hamas is isolated."
A member of the Forum of Heroism management, bereaved father Itzik Bunzel, noted: "I left the prime minister with a full understanding, and I received clear answers to my questions. I understood that the prime minister is resolute that the first clause – the release of all the hostages – is the sole gateway for continuing the implementation of the other clauses. I was convinced that until the last of the hostages returns home, the prime minister does not plan to advance any part from the remaining clauses. And he intends, should this not occur, to continue intense fighting until the collapse of Hamas and the return of the hostages ourselves. The prime minister also hopes and expects that the first condition will be met, but if it is not, Israel will return to intense fighting in Gaza City and will topple Hamas, so the goals of the war have not been altered and the prime minister stands by their execution."
