Israeli Finance Minister informs Netanyahu of six red lines that cannot be crossed in Trump’s proposed plan to end the Gaza war
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Monday that he had set six redlines for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of his upcoming meeting with US President Donald Trump, to discuss the latter’s plan for a potential prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas.
Trump is scheduled to receive Netanyahu at the White House this evening to discuss the 21-point plan the US president presented Tuesday regarding a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas, despite Washington’s unwavering support for Israel in its war on Gaza.
Smotrich said in a post on X that he informed Netanyahu of what he called “redlines that the Religious Zionism Party won’t give up on”.
He said, “First, a real and complete withdrawal of Hamas from Gaza, and the complete dismantling of all terrorist infrastructure above and below ground”.
He added: “Secondly, the Israeli army will always remain in the vicinity of Gaza, including the Philadelphi Corridor (the border between Gaza and Egypt), and will maintain complete operational freedom of action in all areas of the Gaza Strip”.
Thirdly, he said, “There will be no Palestinian Authority interference in Gaza, neither today nor in the future, neither explicitly nor implicitly”.
In defiance of the international community, Smotrich set his fourth condition, saying: “There will be no mention, even a hint, of a Palestinian state that would threaten Israel’s existence… The idea of a Palestinian state must be taken off the table forever”.
During the General Assembly meetings this September, 11 countries recognized the State of Palestine: Britain, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Luxembourg, Belgium, Andorra, France, Malta, Monaco, and San Marino, bringing the total to 159 out of 193 UN member states, according to the Palestinian News Agency.
Regarding the fifth condition, the Israeli Finance Minister said: “There will be no Qatari interference in Gaza”.
Speaking about the displacement of Palestinians, Smotrich concluded his conditions by saying, “Gaza will no longer be a prison where people are forcibly detained, illegally and immorally, simply to harm the State of Israel,” he claimed, adding, “Those who wish will be able to leave the Strip by land from Egypt”.
Trump’s plan, which he presented during his meeting with Arab and Islamic leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York, includes an immediate halt to military operations, the release of all Israeli prisoners within 48 hours, and the formation of international and Palestinian bodies to govern the Gaza Strip without the involvement of Hamas, according to the Washington Post.
