Israel’s far-right finance minister on Monday insisted the military maintain “full operational freedom” in Gaza, ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s White House meeting with US President Donald Trump.
AFP reports: Trump is expected to press Netanyahu to agree to his 21-point peace plan, proposed after nearly two years of conflict.
In a lengthy post on X, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich outlined a series of “red lines”, saying Israel’s security relied on “actions, our hold on the land, and uncompromising enforcement that depends solely on the (Israeli military) and our defence establishment”.
He demanded the military “remain permanently at the perimeter, including the Philadelphi Corridor (and) will maintain full operational freedom throughout the entire Gaza Strip”.
The corridor, along the Gaza-Egypt border, is seen by Israel as crucial to prevent weapons smuggling into the Palestinian territory.
The Trump plan, according to a diplomatic source, involves an Israeli withdrawal from the territory.
Smotrich also rejected any role for the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA) in the future of Gaza, which is among the most controversial aspects of Trump’s plan.
The PA governed Gaza until Hamas seized power in 2007. Netanyahu has also firmly rejected the idea of its involvement in Gaza’s future.
Smotrich demanded that there also be no Qatari involvement in the future of the Palestinian territory.
“The time has come to put an end to Qatar’s hypocrisy and duplicity, which encourages and funds terrorism,” he wrote.
Israel recently struck US ally and key Gaza ceasefire mediator Qatar in a bid to target Hamas leaders, a move Trump opposed.
Smotrich also demanded there be “no mention, even implicitly, of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel’s existence,” echoing comments made by Netanyahu.
Smotrich said he hoped to “seize the historic opportunity of the Trump administration… to politically and practically establish the fact that Judea and Samaria are an inseparable part of the sovereign State of Israel,” using the Israeli Biblical term for the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.
Trump last week cautioned Netanyahu against annexing the West Bank, as sought by Israeli cabinet members.
Netanyahu depends on Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party to maintain his parliamentary majority.