Netanyahu says Israel will take full control of Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel intends to take control of Gaza to remove Hamas and ensure their security, according to remarks made in an interview with Fox News.

Netanyahu said on Thursday that the goal is to enable the population to be “free on Gaza” and eventually pass control to a civilian government that is not affiliated with Hamas or any group advocating the destruction of Israel.

“We intend to, in order to assure our security. Remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free on Gaza. And to pass it to civilian governments, that is not Hamas and not anyone advocating the destruction of Israel. That’s what we want to do,” Netanyahu said.

When asked if Israel would take control of the entire 26-mile Gaza Strip as it did until 2005, Netanyahu said, “Well we don’t want to keep it, we want to have a security perimeter, but we don’t a government, we don’t want to be there as a governing body.”

“We want to hand it over Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life, that’s not possible with Hamas,” Netanyahu added.

The prime minister’s comments come as several countries prepare to recognize the State of Palestine during the upcoming UN General Assembly in September.

Leaders from Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and other European nations have signaled they may pursue recognition if Israel does not take action to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza amid the ongoing conflict with Hamas.