Right-wing Israeli Politicians Celebrate Trump's Calls for U.S. Intervention in Gaza - Israel News - Haaretz.com
Right wing Israeli parties welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump's Tuesday declaration, that the U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, displacing nearly two millions Palestinians who live there.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a vocal opposer of the Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal, thanked Trump for his remarks on a post on X, quoting a popular Hebrew song's lyrics: "[It will keep getting] better and better... Together, we will make the world great again."
Smotrich added in a published statement, "The plan presented yesterday by President Trump is the true answer to October 7. Whoever committed the most terrible massacre on our land will find himself losing his land forever."
- Trump says U.S. will take over Gaza after permanently displacing Palestinians
- In Israel, even the liberals love Trump. This is why
- Witkoff: 'Physically impossible' for Palestinians to return to Gaza under cease-fire deal
"Now we will act to finally bury, with God's help, the dangerous idea of a Palestinian state. For what we saw and heard yesterday from President Trump, we must say a big thank you and much more than a kind word to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and to [Strategic Affairs] Minister [Ron] Dermer, who has accompanied him in Israel-United States relations for many, many years," he said.
Knesset spokesperson MK Amir Ohana wrote that Trump's comments constituted a "dawn of a new day" for Israel.
Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman thanked Trump for his commitment to Israel's security, releasing all hostages and "finding a just solution in the Gaza Strip that will go through the Sinai Peninsula and in collaboration with Egypt."
Rabbi Aryeh Deri, the chairman of the ultra-Orthodox party Shas, said Trump is "serving as a messenger of God in support of the people of Israel, and [will] achieve great success thanks to your unwavering stand by their side against all enemies."
Aryeh Deri's X account
"I bless you to continue, together with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leading historic moves that will transform the Middle East and strengthen peace and security for the people of Israel," he added.
Deri finished the statement with a quote from the bible, "And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the name of the Lord is called upon you, and they shall fear you."
Otzma Yehudit chairman and former National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted on X in English, saying: "Donald, this looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Ben-Gvir also said if Trump's plan is carried out, he would be willing to return to the government.
"The ball is in the prime minister's hands now. If he makes this happen – I'm fully, fully there with him," he said on Galey Israel radio.
Chairman of the National Unity Party Benny Gantz also welcomed Trump's comments, saying the president presented "a creative, original and interesting thought" but said they "should be examined alongside achieving the war's goals, and prioritizing the return of all hostages."
Earlier, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said Trump and Netanyahu's joint press conference was "good for Israel," and said that he would be visiting Washington later this month to present the Americans with "a supplementary plan."
In an interview with army radio, Lapid said: "[We] must make sure we complete the plan all the way to the end, including the second stage. Trump promised the deal will go on and the hostages will return."
"Trump's comments about destroying Hamas at the end of the deal were unnecessary," he went on. "Trump deserved a Nobel Prize for the Abraham Accords, and if there will be a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia, he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for that."
A billboard bearing a picture depicting U.S. President Donald Trump shaking hands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with the slogan above: "We (Israel) are ready " (for normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia), displayed on the facade of a building in Ramat Gan on Tuesday.Credit: Jack Guez / AFP
Yair Golan, The Democrats chairman, said, "The most important statement I heard yesterday from President Trump is that all the hostages must return home now."
"As for everything else – a basic principle is maintaining Israel's security, creating a strong regional alliance, and breaking Netanyahu's concept that brought us 7.10." he said.
The head of Shomron Regional Council in the West Bank, Yossi Dagan, said, "The state of Israel is in a rare moment for historical deeds – the new administration is working strategically opposite than the old one, and it'll respect what the government would define as critical for Israel's security."
Dagan called on Netanyahu to declare Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank and said that what President Trump said "has never been said so directly in transparently."
According to him, "The world is divided to two sides: the good side and the bad side, and Trump chose the right side of history."
The head of the Binyamin Regional Council, Yisrael Gantz, echoed Dagan's statement and said: "Throughout the night I spoke to close friends [who are] Senate and Congress members, and thanked them. I mentioned to them that, for the first time, an American president is essentially announcing the end of the Palestinian dream to destroy Israel through Gaza or through the establishment of a Palestinian state in the heart of the land of Israel."
Gantz added, "The Palestinian story that aspires to disown the Jewish people of their land is finished."
But, Ta'al party MK Ahmad Tibi called Trump's plan to transfer the Palestinians "dangerous delusions." In a post on X, he said: "The Palestinian people will remain in their homeland, Trump, like every president, will not ultimately remain in the White House. One thing is certain: (These) Things will keep Smotrich in the government."
Joint List MK Ayman Odeh added on X, "Trump and Netanyahu, two populists who are deceiving some imaginary base, a transfer will not happen and will not bring security."
"The Gazans will be left far behind both of them, and the two peoples – Palestinian and Jewish – will find a way to live side by side, in a state next to a state, in peace and mutuality, he said, "As far as possible from the Kahanist vision of Trump and Netanyahu."