Senator Lindsey Graham, an ally of President-elect Donald Trump, warns Israeli leaders not to assume Trump will back plans to annex, resettle Gaza Strip.
By World Israel News Staff
President-elect Donald Trump has signaled that he wants Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire deal by the time he enters office on January 20th, a senior Republican lawmaker and Trump ally said last week.
In a report published last Friday by Axios, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham said that the 45th president – and soon to be 47th – has repeatedly said that he wants to see a deal freeing the remaining 101 Israeli hostages and ending the war in Gaza reached by inauguration day next month.
“Trump is more determined than ever to release the hostages and supports a ceasefire that includes a hostage deal. He wants to see it happening now,” Graham was quoted as saying.
“I want people in Israel and in the region to know that Trump is focused on the hostages issue. He wants the killing to stop and the fighting to end.”
Graham, a pro-Israel figure in the upper chamber of Congress, expressed optimism that the Biden administration can cooperate with the Trump transition team to secure a ceasefire in Gaza.
The senator spoke with Axios after returning to the U.S. following a pair of trips to the Middle East, during which he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Turning to plans proposed by Israeli government ministers to resettle and annex the Gaza Strip, Graham warned against assuming they would have the incoming president’s support.
“I think he should talk to Trump and hear what he wants,” Graham said of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who last month called for Israel to adopt a policy of promoting voluntary mass emigration of Arabs from Gaza.
“If you haven’t spoken to him, I wouldn’t put words in his mouth.”
“The best insurance policy against Hamas is not an Israeli reoccupation of Gaza but a reform in the Palestinian society. The only ones who can do that are the Arab countries.”
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