Below is the full text of remarks delivered by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar during the inaugural meeting of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 19, 2026.
President Trump, this is an important day. Your historic actions have proven time and again: You are a leader who takes initiative, forges new paths and works toward a better future for the entire world.
Your visionary leadership—alongside [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s resolve—brought all our hostages home from Gaza. I’m proud to represent here the State of Israel, that stood through such a difficult war for two years on seven different fronts, demonstrating resilience and strength.
As I stand here, I recall the 925 brave soldiers that gave their lives in a war against pure evil: Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah. These are the best people. They went from front to front and charged forward under enemy fire. To them we owe our existence and all our achievements.
They will not be forgotten. I think of them, and their families, who paid the heaviest price.
Since Hamas violently took over Gaza in 2007, it built the largest terror state in the world—with huge terror infrastructure, above and below ground.
Oct. 7 was the peak of Hamas’s ongoing terror campaign, through decades. Hamas raped and murdered women. Killed children in front of their parents. Parents in front of their children. Burned whole families alive.
That terrible day will not be forgotten. And we must act to ensure it never repeats itself.
Distinguished leaders, all previous plans for Gaza failed because they never addressed the core issues: terror, hate, incitement and indoctrination.
At the heart of President Trump’s comprehensive plan are the disarmament of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, and deradicalization of Palestinian society there.
It’s the first plan to address the root of the problem. We support it and are working, and will work, toward its success.
Hamas must be disarmed. That includes all its weapons; its terror infrastructure, underground tunnel network and weapons production facilities must all be dismantled.
As the plan emphasizes, there must also be a fundamental deradicalization process. The infrastructure that indoctrinates Palestinian children to hate and kill Jews, in educational and religious institutions, should no longer exist.
All those are important, not only for the Israelis. Gazans have lived under a terror regime for decades. The people of Gaza must be liberated from these terrorists.
I want to take this opportunity to wish Muslims around the world Ramadan Kareem.
Distinguished leaders, President Trump’s visionary leadership creates, for the first time, an opportunity for a better future.
On behalf of Israel, I say: Thank you, Mr. President, for your leadership.
