Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met today (Thursday) with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the umbrella organization of Jewish groups in the United States, at IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv. The Conference of Presidents is holding its 50th annual mission to Israel this week.
“Determined to Achieve All War Objectives”
Addressing the conference, Sa’ar said: “This is an especially difficult day, when the world once again sees who we are dealing with and how perverted our enemy is. What we witnessed today once again illustrates—surrendering to Hamas’s dictates is not an option. We are determined to achieve all the objectives of this war.”
Sa’ar added: “I recently met with a released hostage who told me that her captors repeatedly said they would attack Israel again in the same way as they did on October 7. It is clear what will happen if we allow these organizations to survive. That is why we insist on the complete demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.”
The delegation of organizational leaders visiting Israel this year is led by Chair Harriet Schleifer and CEO William Daroff.
“Israel Will Not Accept the Continued Presence of Terror Groups in Gaza”
Over the past weekend, Gideon Sa’ar met with many of his counterparts from around the world at the Munich Security Conference, where major global policy issues were discussed, including the future of the war in the Middle East. During a briefing with the foreign press, he addressed the state of negotiations with Hamas and the second phase of the framework for the release of all remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
Speaking about Hamas’s future, Sa’ar said: “Hamas is working to adopt the ‘Hezbollah model’ in Gaza—transferring civilian governance to the Palestinian Authority or another body while remaining the dominant military force, continuing its war against Israel. We will not accept this. We demand the complete disarmament of Gaza. Israel will not accept the continued presence of Hamas or other terrorist groups in Gaza.”
Additionally, Sa’ar criticized the Palestinian Authority over its official decision to halt financial payments to the families of terrorists: “The Palestinian Authority continues its deception tactics. Based on statements and information we have, the payments to terrorists’ families are still ongoing this week, as usual. The PA continues to fund and encourage terror.”
