Religious Zionism party leader Bezalel Smotrich on Monday attacked plans to move to Phase Two of the Gaza ceasefire, following the publication of the members of the new Board of Peace and the Gaza Executive Board, which include representatives from Turkey and Qatar.
The finance minister called for scrapping the plan of US President Donald Trump and addressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly. “It’s either us or them. Either full Israeli control, the destruction of Hamas and the continued long-term suppression of terror, encouraging enemy migration outward and permanent Israeli settlement — or, God forbid, squandering the achievements and heavy cost of the war and waiting for the next round,” he said. At the same time, the Kremlin announced that Trump has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to join the Board of Peace on Gaza.
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Bezalel Smotrich and Donald Trump
(Photo: Reuters / AP / Alex Brandon / REUTERS / Amir Cohen)
“What more does our leadership need to understand that you can’t escape the Land of Israel? That you can’t escape terror?” Smotrich said at a ceremony marking the establishment of the new settlement of Yatziv in Gush Etzion. “Was the worst massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust not enough? Were two years of war and the terrible blood price we paid not enough? Did we pay all of that just to move Gaza from one enemy to another? So that the Turks and the Qataris, who sponsor Hamas even today and are no different in their aspiration to destroy the State of Israel, will sit on our fence? And as if the Egyptians are great lovers of Israel.”
According to Smotrich, “Erdogan is Sinwar. Qatar is Hamas. There is no difference. The idea that you can run away from Gaza and that something good will come of it is detached from reality, and this becomes clearer by the day when you look at the identities of those appointed to the bodies we are hearing about for governing Gaza. It took us 19 years to return to Gush Etzion, 20 years to northern Samaria. I do not intend to wait another 20 years to return to Gaza. We wandered for 40 years in the desert, not in the Land of Israel.”
He said it was time to thank Trump “for his tremendous support for the State of Israel and his good will — I am convinced he is acting with good intentions — for his important help in bringing the hostages home and his willingness to take responsibility.” But, he added, Israel must “explain to him that his plan is bad for the State of Israel and cancel it. Gaza is ours, and its future will affect our future more than anyone else’s. Therefore, we take responsibility for what happens there, impose military rule and complete the mission.”
Smotrich also called for dismantling the US-led command center in Kiryat Gat. He urged the removal of countries such as Egypt and Britain, which he described as hostile to Israel and undermining its security, and called for issuing Hamas a short ultimatum for real disarmament and exile. “The moment it expires, we must storm Gaza with full force, destroy Hamas militarily and civilly, open the Rafah crossing with or without Egyptian consent and allow Gaza residents to leave and seek their future elsewhere, where they will not endanger the future of our children,” he said.
“This was the simple and obvious position of an overwhelming majority of Israelis near the massacre at the start of the war,” Smotrich added. “I am convinced it is still the position of most of the Israeli public, which has woken up from illusions and understands that the only way to ensure our security, with God’s help, is to take responsibility and not run from it. We will, God willing, meet again very soon at a similar ceremony in the Gaza Strip. I very much hope it will be led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, without political upheavals along the way.”
Smotrich made the remarks at a cornerstone-laying ceremony and mezuzah affixing for the new settlement of Yatziv, formerly known as Shadma, on the site of a former, abandoned military base. The settlement’s establishment is part of a Cabinet decision to formalize new communities in Judea and Samaria. Religious Zionism Minister Orit Strock also attended the event.
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Smotrich speaks at the ceremony inaugurating the new settlement in Gush Etzion
(Photo: Idan Bloemhof)
Russia: We are reviewing Trump’s proposal
Earlier Monday, the Kremlin said the US president had invited Putin to join the Board of Peace, the body intended under Trump’s plan to oversee Gaza’s reconstruction and governance. According to reports, the United States is also considering expanding the body’s mandate to address additional international issues, including the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin said Putin is now reviewing the invitation to a body meant to promote peace worldwide.
In recent days, Trump has reportedly invited a range of world leaders to join the Board of Peace, including leaders of Turkey, Egypt, Argentina, Canada, France, Germany, Australia, Albania and Bahrain. "The members of the board will be announced soon, but I can say with certainty that this will be the greatest and most prestigious body ever created, anywhere," Trump said of the new initiative.
According to a Bloomberg report, Trump is demanding that any country seeking permanent membership in the Board of Peace contribute at least $1 billion in its first year after signing the accession charter. A draft document obtained by Bloomberg states that each member country will serve on the council for no more than three years from the date of signing, subject to approval by the chair. The three-year limit would not apply to countries that contribute more than $1 billion in cash to the Board of Peace in the first year after the charter takes effect.
Many aspects of the council’s authority and vision remain unclear. The New York Times noted that critics have questioned whether Trump is seeking to create a US-controlled alternative to the UN Security Council. In an interview with Reuters, before the official announcement of the council over the weekend, Trump said, “It's going to, in my opinion, start with Gaza and then do conflicts as they arise.” Asked about its goals, the US president, who would chair the Board of Peace, replied: “Like other countries that are going to war with each other.”