Washington, DC – In response to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s remarks boasting that he has ordered the IDF to seize 70% of Gaza and hinting at plans to gradually take over the rest, J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami issued the following statement:
“At a time when Hamas is entrenching its control in Gaza and Israel faces unprecedented diplomatic isolation, Prime Minister Netanyahu should be doing everything in his power to ensure the Gaza ceasefire plan is fully implemented – and Hamas is replaced by alternative Palestinian security forces and governance. Instead, he is taking unilateral steps to violate the ceasefire.
Advancing permanent Israeli control over the entire Gaza Strip is not a sustainable security strategy. It is the advancement of an annexationist agenda designed to appeal to Netanyahu’s far-right base at the direct expense of Palestinian lives, Israeli security, regional stability and any remaining prospect for a negotiated end to this conflict.
Israel had full control of Gaza for almost 30 years. That failed to deliver security for Israelis or Palestinians. Two years of all-out war with Hamas failed to remove Hamas from power or eliminate the threat it poses to Israel. Only a diplomatic resolution that allows self-governance by moderate Palestinians can deliver safety and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike.
An American administration that claims to want peace in the Middle East cannot allow Netanyahu’s government to openly shred the Gaza ceasefire. J Street calls on the Trump administration to make clear to Netanyahu that unilateral military expansion in violation of the ceasefire carries real consequences – and that the United States will not stand by while this government continues its de facto annexation of Gaza.”