Prime Minister: Without Trump, the Gaza agreement could not have been reached

Sputnik News, Tel Aviv, October 10 - Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu stated during a government meeting that the agreement to release Israeli hostages from Gaza would not have been achieved without the efforts of US President Trump and his team.

The Israeli government approved the agreement with the Palestinian Hamas organization to release hostages from Gaza at a meeting on the evening of October 9.

American Middle East envoy Wittkower and Trump's son-in-law Kushner attended the Israeli government meeting convened to approve the agreement with Hamas.

According to a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office, Netanyahu said: "A decisive moment has arrived. For the past two years, we have fought for the goals of the war, one of the core objectives being to bring back all the hostages, whether alive or dead. Now, we are about to achieve this goal. Without the efforts of President Trump and his team, namely Wittkower and Kushner, we would not have achieved this. These efforts, along with the bravery of our soldiers entering Gaza, created dual pressure in military and diplomatic fields, isolating Hamas. I believe it is these factors that have brought us to where we are today."

Kushner pointed out that rescuing Israeli hostages has long been a top priority for Trump within the framework of the Middle East peace process.

Kushner said, "But I want to say that without the bravery of the Israel Defense Forces soldiers and their achievements over the past two years, not only in Gaza but also on other stages, none of this would have been possible."

Kushner pointed out that Israel's actions against the Lebanese Hezbollah movement and Iran had a significant impact on signing the current agreement.

Wittkower highlighted the personal role of Netanyahu and his ability to make difficult decisions.

Wittkower said, "There were moments when I thought you (Netanyahu - editor's note) should be more flexible, or your country should be more flexible. But in fact, looking back now, I think if Prime Minister Netanyahu had not taken the actions he did, we would not have reached this point. Thank you."

Previously, US President Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement to implement the first phase of the peace plan in the Gaza Strip. According to the first phase arrangement, Hamas will release Israeli hostages, while Israel will withdraw its forces to the designated internal lines in the Gaza Strip and release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including several who were sentenced to life imprisonment for terrorism, from Israeli prisons.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1845555346596873/

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