Sources in Washington said that despite the positive atmosphere in the talks and the success in reaching agreements on Saudi investments in the US and other civil matters, security issues remain unresolved and contacts on the subject will continue. Regarding normalization with Israel, the Saudis presented a stubborn position stating they would be ready to begin talks only upon the full conclusion of the war, through the completion of Phase B of the Donald Trump plan.

The American response was that the Saudis are giving Hamas veto power, as Hamas refuses to advance to talks or disarm, partly due to Iranian pressure on several regime officials. Iran aims to torpedo or delay such normalization, which strengthens the regional alliance against it.

A second demand raised by the Saudis is the full establishment of the path to establishing a Palestinian state. Reports indicated that Israel, meaning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, must publicly confirm his commitment regarding this clause in the Donald Trump plan and the Security Council resolution. As Israel Hayom revealed, Riyadh made clear in early contacts that it could not sign onto joining the Abraham Accords and normalization with the government in its current composition, meaning with the right-wing parties of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

This concerns not only statements by the right-wing MKs against a Palestinian state or Saudi Arabia itself, but mainly their push to expand the settlements. A Saudi diplomatic source told Israel Hayom that it is clear to the Saudi leadership that in the current government, Netanyahu will struggle to advance the basic conditions for promoting the establishment of a Palestinian state. The Saudis do not rule out talks with Israel soon, and even reaching agreements on civil and economic matters – but they rule out normalization and official accession to the Abraham Accords with the current Israeli government.

An Arab diplomatic official said the prevailing assessment is that such official talks would begin with the war's conclusion phase, but unofficial talks and contacts between the countries would continue and even accelerate before then, due to pressure from Donald Trump. "We estimate that the acceptance of Saudi security requests, or at least most of them, will be announced then," the official said. The official referred here to the supply of advanced weapons types, including F-35 stealth aircraft.

Regarding the issue of selling the advanced aircraft to Saudi Arabia, Israel did not object in principle but asked the US for two things. First, Israel asked to supply the Saudis with models that do not possess the most sophisticated systems available for the aircraft. Donald Trump said Tuesday that in his opinion it is possible to give Saudi Arabia and Israel the same systems, but the Pentagon and the State Department believe Israel's qualitative edge must be preserved in this aspect.

The president added that Israel is aware of the entire issue of the aircraft sale, and it will be very satisfied with the results of this move, meaning it will gain in other places. The second request is receiving specific security items and access to technologies that until now existed only in the hands of the US military and were not sold to Israel. There is some progress here, although the entire request was not fulfilled.

An Israeli security official criticized the diplomatic level for not sharing the management of contacts with the administration with the relevant security echelon, noting that in the past this level was involved in talks such as these. The official said the approach to the security echelon occurred only after the objection in principle to the sale had already been removed.

The IDF, incidentally, is not very concerned about the sale of F-35 aircraft to Saudi Arabia, as the Israeli qualitative edge lies in the levels of technology integration of the aircraft with other technologies and systems, as well as in the much higher skill of the Israeli pilots.

In the diplomatic bottom line, Israel has swallowed a bitter pill in the form of consent to the "path to a Palestinian state" clause. It will swallow another bitter pill or two regarding weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region. The first and major return, the hostages and remaining in Gaza, has been accepted. Now the diplomatic return is awaited, though its political price will be high.

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American officials explained to Arab state representatives that if they don't accept the proposal the Trump administration is pushing, the alternative would be Israel restarting its Gaza war. "Choose between this text and [hard right minister] Bezalel Smotrich," officials said. Still, sources familiar with the details believe there may be minor adjustments to the resolution language.

The International Stabilization Force (ISF) is intended to serve as Gaza's sole military force under the Trump plan, tasked with dismantling terror infrastructure and demilitarizing the Strip. The comprehensive plan for ending the Gaza conflict rests on the "The Trump Declaration for Enduring Peace and Prosperity," more commonly known as the "20-point plan."

The plan centers on rehabilitating the Gaza Strip and securing regional stability, while attempting to build broad international backing for a new civilian and security apparatus to be created in the Strip.

Israel Hayom published the key elements of the anticipated resolution and the projected Security Council vote timing, roughly a week and a half to two weeks away. Currently, despite agreeing to the UN Security Council resolution, most Arab nations expected to contribute soldiers to the multinational force remain unwilling to do so.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are making Hamas disarmament a precondition before deploying soldiers, while Egypt fears confrontations with Hamas operatives on one hand and the IDF on the other. Which leaves Israel with the Azeris and the Indonesians.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an urgent meeting Tuesday afternoon after his testimony in court was cut short due to security developments.

Video: IDF forces delineating Yellow Line / Credit: IDF

Israel is examining a series of punishment measures against Hamas for repeated agreement violations. Some of the sanctions under consideration include moving the yellow line westward, meaning expanding Israeli-controlled territory; re-entering the Netzarim Corridor to restrict Palestinian movement; reducing aid convoys and limiting entry of goods; and continuing the closure of the Rafah crossing.

A first penalty step was already decided when Hamas operatives were banned from working with the Red Cross in Israeli-controlled areas. The move was approved earlier this week to locate fallen hostages.

Netanyahu already faces pressure from cabinet members, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, to "let all hell break loose." Smotrich sent a letter to the prime minister stating, "I intend to demand that the prime minister order the IDF to immediately rearrest all the terrorists released to the West Bank in the hostage deal in response to Hamas's repeated violations."

Ben-Gvir wrote on X, "The fact that Hamas continues playing games and not immediately transferring all our fallen soldiers' bodies proves the terror organization still stands on its feet. The time has come to break those legs once and for all. Now we don't need to 'extract a price from Hamas' for the violations. We need to extract its very existence from it and destroy it completely – in accordance with the central objective defined for the war of revival. Mr. Prime Minister, enough hesitation – give the order!"

Another person who called on Netanyahu to respond forcefully was his main electoral rival and former prime minister, Naftali Bennett. "Not 'we'll settle accounts' and not 'painful response.' Hamas is cancer. Hamas must be destroyed," Bennett wrote.

"Not Learning from Mistakes"

The family of fallen hostage Hadar Goldin responded, "Hamas continues the psychological terror as in all 4,107 days they have held him, except this time Hamas made a mistake from which there will be no way back – this is an act of terror that Hamas is now doing personally and deliberately against US President Donald Trump. We are confident President Trump will respond uncompromisingly, especially in light of the ultimatum he set for the terror organization Hamas. Not only did Hamas not meet its commitment but also in its attempt to humiliate the most powerful man in the world."

"We call on Prime Minister Netanyahu to act according to his commitments, which were guaranteed by all the mediators, including Emir of Qatar Mohammed bin Thani, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Once again, the State of Israel, as has been its pattern for the past 11 years, does not learn from systematic past mistakes, 'pays in advance' to the terror organization Hamas for all its demands despite Hamas violating the agreement already in the first stage – to transfer all information on the location of the fallen soldiers, with all necessary efforts to find and return all the fallen."

"The family and the entire public will continue the uncompromising struggle to return to Israel's soil the heroic soldier Lt. Hadar Goldin. We call on the people of Israel to take to the streets and not give up until the return of the last fallen soldier immediately!"

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Netanyahu was testifying Tuesday morning in his trial at the Tel Aviv District Court, and the meeting was expected to occur after the testimony concluded. The prime minister was expected to meet with senior security officials to address Hamas' repeated violations of the ceasefire agreement.

Hamas has yet to return 13 deceased hostages still in its possession. Monday evening, Hamas transferred to the Red Cross, and from there to Israel, the coffin of someone the terror organization claimed was one of the 13 deceased hostages still held.

At the Institute of Forensic Medicine, officials could not identify the deceased, as DNA tests did not match any of those remaining in captivity in Gaza. In light of the developments, Netanyahu was expected to convene a security consultation later Tuesday to discuss how to respond to Hamas' actions.

According to Israeli assessments, Hamas could immediately transfer five deceased hostages to Israeli territory, with several additional deceased hostages recoverable with some effort.

All options under consideration

In recent days, Israel has been examining a series of punitive measures against Hamas for the delay and the delivery of a body that is not one of the 13 hostages, following President Donald Trump's ultimatum to Hamas.

Some of the sanctions include moving the "yellow line" westward – expanding the area of Israeli control, renewed entry to the Netzarim Corridor to restrict Palestinian movement, reducing aid convoys and limiting product entry, and continued closure of the Rafah Crossing.

The measures are being coordinated with the US, which has not ruled out the moves but requested additional time before they are implemented. In talks between Minister Ron Dermer and US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, Dermer warned against erosion of the American threat's impact after Hamas violated President Trump's ultimatum.

"Don't let Hamas play cruelly with families of the deceased"

Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves on the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet, sent an urgent letter to Netanyahu calling for convening the cabinet to discuss response measures.

Smotrich wrote, "Against the backdrop of Hamas' repeated violations of the ceasefire conditions and the first stage of President Trump's plan and against the backdrop of the lack of progress in dismantling and demilitarizing Gaza, I ask you to urgently convene the cabinet today for discussion to formulate a package of strong and determined responses and to ensure our adherence to the central war objective of destroying Hamas and removing the threat emanating from Gaza toward Israeli citizens."

"We cannot allow Hamas to deceive Israeli citizens and play with cruel cynicism with the emotions of the families of the deceased hostages."

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said, "The fact that Hamas continues playing games and has not immediately transferred all the bodies of our deceased – this alone shows that the terror organization is still standing on its feet. The time has come to break those legs once and for all."

"Now we don't need to exact a price from Hamas for the violations. We need to exact from it its very existence, and destroy it completely, once and for all – according to the central objective defined for Operation Rising Lion. Mr. Prime Minister, enough hesitating – give the order!"

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Speaking at a Thursday conference organized by the Zomet Institute and the Makor Rishon newspaper, Smotrich said that if Saudi Arabia conditioned normalization on the establishment of a Palestinian state, then they can "keep riding camels in the desert."

His comments triggered a political firestorm and drew criticism from both within Israel and abroad. Several hours later, Smotrich apologized for what he called an "Unfortunate comment."

'Keep riding camels'

"Sovereignty is the test," Smotrich declared. "If Saudi Arabia tells us normalization in exchange for a Palestinian state, then friends, no thank you. Keep riding camels in the desert; we'll continue developing our economy, society, and country, and all the great things we know how to do." He added, "The State of Israel is the State of Israel in all its borders – it will never establish a Palestinian state."

Journalist Malek al-Roqi, based in Riyadh, quoted Smotrich's comments and wrote: "Since the New York conference, the extremists in Israel have been raging against Saudi Arabia and its clear position." He was referring to a recent conference on the two-state solution, which Saudi Arabia jointly promoted with France.

Smotrich's remarks drew condemnation from opposition leaders and even from within the government. Opposition Leader Yair Lapid wrote in Arabic on X (formerly Twitter): "To our friends in Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East – Smotrich does not represent Israel."

Yair Golan, leader of the Democratic Party, also weighed in: "Instead of normalization with Saudi Arabia, the Netanyahu-Smotrich coalition is choosing Hamas and Qatar in Gaza. A Saudi boycott is a gift to Hamas and will help it retain power in the Strip."

'Unfortunate comment'

As mentioned, Smotrich issued an apology hours after the uproar, writing in a social media post: "My unplanned and unfortunate comment about Saudi Arabia was certainly ill-considered, and I regret the offense it caused." In the video, he added: "I also won't accept hypocrisy – just as I don't wish to harm the Saudis, I expect not to be harmed either. I expect the Saudis not to deny the heritage, tradition, and rights of the Jewish people to their historical homeland in Judea and Samaria, and to work with us toward true peace."

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Journalist Malek al-Rouqi, based in Riyadh, quoted the statement and wrote: "Since the New York summit, Israeli extremists have been furious with Saudi Arabia and its clear stance." He was referring to the conference on the two-state solution promoted by Saudi Arabia and France.

A Saudi social media activist added: "We ride camels and walk through the desert? If that's the case, why are you chasing after us, panting for normalization?"

Following the Saudi backlash, the finance minister released a video in which he expressed regret over his phrasing. "My comment about Saudi Arabia was certainly ill-considered, and I regret the offense it caused," he said.

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Regarding Shas's departure from the government coalition, he said he lost patience long ago with these games. He said government could complete serve out its term but there is no such thing as being in the coalition while not being in it, and the coalition failing to pass laws, there is a country that requires governance. There is no such thing as continuing to control ministries remotely through associates while actually being outside, he noted.

Video: Smotrich speaks about Saudi normalization / Credit: GoLive

He said that he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, "Either succeed in resolving the conscription issue with a genuine law and change the abnormal reality that Haredim do not participate in army service, or go to elections. This story must end quickly.​"

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For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the American president's decision marks a moment to feel relieved. He now possesses a devastating answer for the right-wing sector of the coalition and members of the Likud who continually press for sovereignty. As is recorded in the Book of Esther: "For a writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no one reverse." What Donald Trump determined is now fact – and nothing can be done about it.

The Yesha Council, which managed a very successful and sophisticated campaign both domestically and in Washington, was able to elevate the idea of sovereignty high in public opinion, but it appears the council failed to accurately pick-up the broader diplomatic mood. It was evident in recent weeks that in light of the international anti-Israeli sentiment sweeping countries, it was just unthinkable to further antagonize the international community with that move.

Instead of insisting on sovereignty until the very end, the Yesha Council could have proposed a wise compromise to Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron, and Benjamin Netanyahu: We will forgo the idea of sovereignty, and in return, the French president will withdraw from the initiative to recognize a Palestinian state. As this did not occur – the bitter outcome now is that Israel both received the international recognition of a Palestinian state and forfeited the sovereignty option – without any compensation. The missed opportunity is unfortunate.

However, there is also a somewhat positive angle to Donald Trump's decision. The American president effectively saved Israel from itself. Sovereignty at this juncture would have exacted extremely heavy political and economic costs, primarily in the form of European sanctions even more severe than those still anticipated to arrive. It is highly questionable how successfully Israel could have practically implemented sovereignty on the ground, given that it has more than enough critical issues on its plate to deal with these days.

Sovereignty will absolutely come eventually – but gradually, at a more appropriate time and under better circumstances. Sometimes the truest friend is the one who understands when to say "no."

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Through this decision, Spain enters a considerable list of other nations that already declared similar sanctions against the two ministers this past June. The countries in question include the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Norway. Ben-Gvir reacted to the announcement by suggesting Madrid let Gazans who want to leave immigrate to Spain, writing in Spanish: "No me dejen entrar amí... a los de Gaza, denles entrada libre a España" (Don't let me in... to those from Gaza, give them free entry to Spain). The plan to have Gazans relocate voluntarily has been met by opposition by many countries, who view this as illegal, although Israel said this is never going to be imposed on the population.

Those nations attributed the sanctions to "incitement to violence against Palestinians" carried out by Ben-Gvir and Smotrich. The official statement at the time asserted that Ben-Gvir and Smotrich were "responsible for incitement, promotion, and support of activity that constitutes a serious violation of the human right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, especially acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians in the West Bank."

On Monday, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that Spain "will increase the pressure" on Israel by forbidding ships and planes transporting weapons to Israel from docking at Spanish ports or entering Spanish airspace. He also announced the recalling of the ambassador.

Spain will also boost its assistance to the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and will place an embargo on goods manufactured in Israeli settlements in the "occupied" Palestinian territories, he said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa'ar stated in a declaration that Sánchez is attempting to deflect public focus from his internal corruption scandals and described his measures as "antisemitic."

Israel reacted by barring Minister of Labor and Social Economy Yolanda Díaz and Minister of Youth and Children Sira Rego, both from the junior far-left Sumar coalition partner, from entering Israel.

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During the cabinet meeting, the plans for conquering Gaza City were shown to the ministers, and according to sources present, modifications were made based on demands raised in prior meetings. The cabinet did not deliberate on a hostage return agreement Sunday since no progress has been made toward one, while preparations for the military operation in the field are being finalized. Nevertheless, ministers sensed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has conclusively decided to move away from the framework for a partial deal, echoing the demand made by Minister Bezalel Smotrich several weeks ago.

A conciliatory atmosphere was present in the cabinet on Sunday, and even Chief of Staff Eyald Zamir earned praise after emphasizing that the forces would execute the directives of the political leadership with excellence, even if they held different opinions.

The plans were presented over the course of the discussion, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, together with other ministers, pushed for implementing an effective siege after giving the population an opportunity to leave. He also called for a concentrated effort on the civilian outcome, which would involve distributing food only under Israeli supervision and, as the war progresses, moving toward annexation to demonstrate the price of Hamas's error and defeat when it launched the October 7 massacre.

According to sources knowledgeable on the subject, discussions for a deal are constantly underway to find a formula that will lead to the hostages' return, and these talks might continue even under fire from the new operation to conquer Gaza City. The elimination of the Hamas spokesman, which was accomplished over the weekend, also inspires hope that the terror group will eventually become more flexible.

At the government meeting, Netanyahu spoke about the imminent operation in Gaza, saying "This operation reflects our commitment to bringing back all our hostages. I remind you that we have so far returned 207, including 148 living hostages. We will bring them all back – both the living and the deceased. The cabinet has made its decision on the matter – the defeat of Hamas and the release of all our hostages, through a great effort, and the IDF has already started to implement this decision. I wish to express my appreciation for the reserve and regular soldiers who are preparing for the mission of liberation and victory."

The cabinet ministers were also asked to state their views on the sovereignty plan being developed. As will be revealed by Israel Hayom for the first time, contrary to the hopes being nurtured by ministers in the government, the plan promoted by Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer with senior US administration officials proposes only partial sovereignty over the Jordan Valley region.

It is a plan based on a wide consensus in Israel and, as Dermer hopes, a bipartisan one in the US, in contrast to applying full sovereignty over most of the territory in Judea and Samaria. A senior government official who is familiar with the plan Dermer is promoting told Israel Hayom on Sunday that "Netanyahu is advancing a partial sovereignty move and will take heat for it from the Europeans as if he applied it to the entire area, when he could get full recognition from Trump."

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