Israel’s President says ‘real test’ in Gaza next stage is ‘Hamas leaving’

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said it is integral to disarm Hamas while discussing next steps for the Gaza ceasefire during a session in Davos on Thursday.

When asked about the next stage of the Gaza ceasefire and the steps that will be taken to fulfill the requirements of the deal, Herzog told the World Economic Forum (WEF) that it was integral to disarm and disband the Palestinian militant group in the territory.

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“The real test has to be Hamas leaving Gaza. Hamas as a military group leaving Gaza, this is the test of this movement from stage one to stage two [of the ceasefire],” he said.

“It is not a standstill. It is a stage-by-stage process whereby we have brought Hamas into a situation where we annihilated most of its leaders on the ground, and now the next phase has to be this international effort, which so far is building in front of our eyes,” he added.

Speaking about Gaza’s post-war governance, Herzog said the success of a technocratic administration depends on its ability to deliver improvements.

“This technocratic government will be tested by its ability to function well and bring forward improvement of life quite quickly in Gaza, with the support of the International community and of course, with the increase of humanitarian aid as much as possible to Gaza,” Herzog added.

When asked about a Two-State Solution, the Israeli president said he was “cautious” on commenting about the issue, adding that Israel is going into an election year where the issue will be debated.

“As head of state, which is not involved in the political system, I’m cautious as commenting exactly on the outcome of each of these issues,” he said.

“Israel is going into an election year, and it’s going to be a very heated public debate on many, many issues. The issue of the two-state solution, a Palestinian state, is an issue that will be debated,” he added.

He did note, however, that following the events of October 7, 2023, there has been “a lot of rethinking and re-analysis Israelis about what is the best way of living together with our neighbors.”

“I think it is a must that we build the future of coexistence and peace between Israelis and Palestinians. But how, what will be the political format and the outcome will be discussed also in our elections,” he added.

The Israeli president also praised the “incredible diplomatic efforts” by the United States President Donald Trump, who has invited over 60 countries to join his Board of Peace, a new entity he announced under the 20-point Gaza peace plan.

“I think the greatness of the process right now is that it is also based on regional elements. The fact that it is a regional process also gives strong winds to many new facets in the dialogue, such as economic improvement, economic dialogue, economic benefits and so forth and so on,” he said.

Iran regime ‘quite fragile’

Moving on to Iran, the Israeli president said the regime “is [in] a quite fragile situation.”

“The economy [in Iran] is in shambles. The future for the Iranian people can only be in a regime change, and that has to be within the realms of the Iranian people and the international community and its support. It is clear to me that the Ayatollah regime is quite a fragile situation,” he said told the forum.

He also expressed anger over what he called “great hypocrisy” for the lack of attention given to the Iranian government’s violent crackdown on demonstrations in contrast to the criticism Israel has received over its war on Gaza.

“You know what mind-boggles me? All those who have attacked us for defending ourselves, where are they? Why don’t we see them demonstrating in front of the Iranian embassies or demonstrating in the streets of cities all over the world?” he said.

Israel closely monitoring Syria

Speaking on the ongoing developments in Syria, where the government reached a ceasefire agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) this week, Herzog said Israel was monitoring the situation closely.

“We look at Syria very cautiously. On the one hand, the Syrian people deserve a better life… We are watching it very cautiously, because we are worried about our allies, the Druze, in the south,” he said.

However, he noted that Israel is following the lead of the United States, saying “We listen to our friends, the Americans, who are very much involved in other nations in the region, who are operating and meeting with President al-Sharaa and his team.”

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