Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement this evening in which he reiterated the principles set by the cabinet for ending the war and emphasized that only their implementation will ensure Israel's security and victory in the war.
Netanyahu stated: "One week ago, I convened the Security Cabinet and we determined five principles for the conclusion of the war: 1. Hamas is to be disarmed. 2. All hostages - the living and the deceased - are to be returned. We will not give up on a single one. 3. The Strip is to be demilitarized. Not only must Hamas be disarmed, but it must be ensured that weapons will be neither produced in the Strip nor smuggled into the Strip 4. There will be Israeli security control in the Gaza Strip, including the security perimeter. 5. There will be an alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority - people who will neither educate their children for terrorism, nor finance terrorism, nor dispatch terrorism.
"These five principles will ensure the security of Israel. This is the meaning of the word 'victory'," he said.