Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia would be possible only after Hamas is eliminated and Iran’s influence in the region is further diminished.
His remarks came in response to Riyadh’s denial of U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that Saudi Arabia was not conditioning ties with Israel on the establishment of a Palestinian state.
“When we complete the changeover in the Middle East, when we cut the Iranian axis down even further than we’ve already cut it, when we make sure Iran doesn’t have nuclear weapons, when we destroy Hamas—that will set the stage for an additional agreement with the Saudis and others,” Netanyahu said. “I believe also in the Muslim world, because it’s peace through strength.”
Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv
Netanyahu dismissed the prospect of a Palestinian state in the wake of the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel. “They had one, it’s called Gaza,” he said, arguing that past peace efforts had bypassed the Palestinian leadership.
3 View gallery
Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump speaking to reporters after their meeting last week
(Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP)
“We got the Abraham Accords because we went around the Palestinians,” he said, asserting that both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas seek Israel’s destruction. “Israel is small,” he added, praising Trump’s stance on the matter. “We can’t be any smaller. We’re not going to have an organization that is committed to our destruction, nine miles from the sea.”
The prime minister also endorsed Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza while the enclave is rebuilt, rejecting criticism that the idea amounts to forced displacement. “I think the proposal is the first fresh idea,” Netanyahu said.
“Gaza is basically a small area 25 miles from Tel Aviv which Hamas has used as a springboard for continuous terrorist attacks against Israel,” he continued. “Then comes President Trump and says, ‘Hey, let them leave, and I’ll find a place for temporary relocation.’ Not forceful eviction, not ethnic cleansing—getting people out of what these so-called do-gooders say is an open-air prison.”
Netanyahu also accused Egypt of preventing Gazans from leaving the territory. “Some would bribe the gatekeepers,” he said. “So, the very rich got out, but those who wanted to leave couldn’t,” he added, arguing that Palestinians in Gaza should be given the option to relocate.