05-07-2025
'There will be no Hamastan,' Netanyahu declares as terror group reviews US ceasefire proposal
"There will not be a Hamas. There will not be a Hamastan. We're not going back to that. It's over," he said.
Hamas is reviewing new ceasefire proposals from mediators, aiming for an agreement that would end the Gaza conflict and ensure the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave, according to a statement released on Wednesday.
On the same day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the elimination of the terrorist organization in his first public remarks since US President Donald Trump announced what he called a "final proposal" for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza.
"There will not be a Hamas. There will not be a Hamastan. We're not going back to that. It's over. We will free all our hostages," Netanyahu told a meeting hosted by the Trans-Israel pipeline. The audience applauded the statement.
"'Well, really, how can you say that? These are two opposing goals!' – What nonsense. It works together. We will complete it together, contrary to what others say. We will eliminate them down to the ground," he continued in an impassioned speech.
"Our opportunities are huge. We are not going to miss them. We won't fail them, we won't lose them, we won't miss this opportunity," he stressed, adding that opportunities include defeating "our enemies and [securing] our future – economically, nationally, internationally, and energetically."
In the same statement, Netanyahu announced that Israel is going to increase and enhance its energy capacity. "The forecast for gas revenues alone in the coming decade is almost 300 billion shekels. You remember there were debates about this: 'This will destroy the Israeli economy.' It didn't destroy the Israeli economy – it's building the Israeli economy," he said.
He concluded with a promise to connect the energy sources of Asia, the Middle East, and the Arabian Peninsula with the West.
Trump said on Tuesday that Israel had agreed to the US-proposed ceasefire conditions.
"Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War," he wrote in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday night.
"I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE."
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer informed US envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff that Israel has accepted the proposal for a ceasefire and hostage deal and is ready to begin close talks with Hamas to finalize the agreement, a senior Israeli official said on Wednesday.
