Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday stressed that Israel is a sovereign state and will make its own decisions on national security matters, amid reports that key decisions about the future of the Gaza Strip are being discussed in Washington.
"Israel is an independent state. We will defend ourselves by our own means and we will continue to determine our fate," Netanyahu said during a meeting of government ministers. "We do not seek anyone's approval for this. We control our security."
He added, “I want to make one thing clear — our security policy is in our own hands. We will not tolerate attacks against us; we respond at our discretion to attacks, as we have done in Lebanon and most recently in Gaza. We dropped 150 tons on Hamas and on terror elements after the attack on our two soldiers. And of course we also thwart dangers while they are forming before they are carried out, as we did only yesterday in the Gaza Strip," as quoted by The Times of Israel
Netanyahu’s remarks followed a visit by US Vice President JD Vnce earlier in the week, aimed at supporting efforts to reinforce the Israel-Hamas Gaza ceasefire.
Gaza force under Israel's terms
Netanyahu also addressed the planned international Gaza security force, set up under the US-brokered ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. The coalition, expected to include mainly Arab and Muslim nations, is to deploy troops in the Palestinian territory.
"We made clear with respect to international forces that Israel will determine which forces are unacceptable to us," he said, noting his opposition to regional rival Turkey having a role in the force.
Earlier in the week, Netanyahu reiterated that Israel controls its own security and is not a “protectorate of the United States.”
Trump talks Qatar, Gaza truce
US President Donald Trump met Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Saturday to discuss the fragile Gaza ceasefire.
The meeting took place as Israel conducted an air strike on an alleged Islamic Jihad militant in Gaza, testing the truce brokered by Washington. Qatar, along with Egypt, the United States, and Turkey, is a guarantor of the Gaza truce and has played a central role in indirect talks between Israel and Hamas since the conflict erupted after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Earlier this week, the Emir also hosted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss plans for the Gaza security force and the future of Hamas’s political structure.
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