Benjamin Netanayhu’s political opponents have also backed the plan, while a key member of his coalition branded it a ‘tragedy’
September 30, 2025 11:07
Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza has received a warm and enthusiastic response from the Israeli public, the hostage families and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political opponents – while some members of the premier’s cabinet are vocally opposed to it.
The deal, which has yet to be accepted by Hamas, and would involve the terror group’s disarmament, would crucially see the release of all remaining 48 hostages within 72 hours.
Welcoming Trump’s 20-point peace plan the Hostages and Missing Families Forum wrote on X: “After almost two years of unimaginable anguish, we stand at a historic turning point.
“This is a historic agreement that will allow our people to heal, end the war, and chart a new future for the Middle East.”
Yet even as they embraced the proposed deal, they struck a cautious note, adding: “even as we celebrate this breakthrough, we will not rest until the last hostage is back home. This is our moral obligation. All 48 hostages must return.
“In the past, the releases were cut short by phased deals that never reached completion. We must ensure that this time does not share the same fate.”
Israel’s broad political spectrum has been largely supportive of the plan too, with multiple members of opposition parties, including Yair Lapid, the leader Israel’s centrist Yesh Atid party, and Yair Golan, who leads the Democrats, both giving it their backing.
Avigdor Lieberman, the leader of the nationalist right-wing political party Yisrael Beiteinu who twice served as Israel’s deputy prime minister, also appeared to give the plan his blessing, saying: “Every initiative that brings all the hostages home must be welcomed. The children shall return to their borders.”
However, right wing factions of Netanyahu’s own government rejected the proposal. Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, a key Netanyahu ally who heads the hardline Religious Zionism party, panned the plan, branding it “a tragedy of leadership fleeing from the truth.”
In a lengthy X post, he warned: “To return after October 7th and after two years of dedication, heroism, and sacrifice by a nation of lions... to the old mindset of entrusting our security to foreigners… is so ‘old-fashioned’ and… a historic missed opportunity to finally break free from the shackles of [the] Oslo [Accords].”
"Our children will be forced to fight in Gaza again. This is what Einstein defined as sheer folly: repeating the same action over and over and expecting a different result.”
Closer to home, the deal was also warmly welcomed by Tony Blair – who was named as a likely member of the “board of peace” which will oversee a post-war, post-Hamas Gaza.
In a statement shared by the think tank headed up by the former prime minister, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, the former Labour leader said: “President Trump has put down a bold and intelligent plan,” adding: “It offers us the best chance of ending two years of war, misery and suffering.”
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