Avigdor Liberman, leader of Israel’s opposition Yisrael Beiteinu Party, on Monday denounced the Trump administration’s plan to let aid supplies into the Gaza Strip as a “very, very negative development.”
“In my opinion, humanitarian aid—of any kind—should not have been allowed to enter since the start of the war, as long as our hostages are rotting in Hamas’s tunnels,” Liberman stated in response to a question from JNS at his party’s faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem.
“We just need to say it out loud to everyone and stand by it,” Liberman said. “You want humanitarian aid? First, return the hostages, then we’ll talk. And therefore, for me, this is a very, very negative development.”
Fifty-nine abductees remain captive in Gaza, according to official Israel Defense Forces figures. It is believed that up to 24 of them are still alive, with heavy question marks over one Israeli and two foreign nationals.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Sunday stressed the government’s full backing of the American-led humanitarian plan for the Strip, which was announced on Friday by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.
“Humanitarian aid will be facilitated by a private fund—based on the principles laid out by the U.S. administration,” Sa’ar said, adding that the plan will enable aid “directly to the people” and not to Hamas terrorists.
Washington’s plan is “based on international humanitarian law and its principles, which we are committed to. And we would like to cooperate with as many countries and NGOs as possible on the matter,” he added.
