Israeli Minister Struck Warns New Peace Roadmap Risks Creating Terror State in Gaza
Israeli Minister of Settlement and National Missions, Orit Struck, sharply criticized a new peace roadmap promoted by the so-called "Peace Council" led by Melanov, warning it dangerously accelerates the establishment of a Palestinian terror state contrary to all agreements and logic. In an interview with Channel 7, Struck said the plan represents a dramatic departure from former US President Donald Trump's twenty-point peace plan, adopting Hamas demands and abandoning key Israeli security principles.
Struck recalled that Israel opposed Trump's plan last year because it ultimately led to a Palestinian state, but said the new roadmap is even worse as it accepts Hamas's conditions and disregards prior understandings between Israel and the US. She highlighted the danger that the new Gaza authority would operate under Palestinian law, which she described as endorsing terrorism against Jews and rewarding terrorists. Struck condemned the plan for establishing a new entity in Gaza with the same legal identity that promotes violence.
She also criticized the plan for providing pensions to Hamas members excluded from the new governance structures, effectively funding terrorists and enabling Hamas to rearm. The roadmap omits the disarmament of Gaza, instead transferring Hamas's weapons to the new Palestinian administration, including rockets, tunnels, and anti-tank weapons. Struck called this a roadmap to terror, not peace.
Further, she opposed the easing of conditions for Israeli military withdrawal and Gaza reconstruction, which in the original Trump plan were contingent on full disarmament and security guarantees. Struck warned against the new Gaza policing force, which she said is designed to monitor the Israeli military rather than maintain order, effectively restricting IDF operations. Alongside Minister Bezalel Smotrich, she has demanded Prime Minister Netanyahu reopen discussions and reconsider the deployment of this force.
Struck concluded that no steps should be taken toward implementing this roadmap, as it risks turning Gaza into the most dangerous place for Israeli soldiers, undermining the sacrifices made to remove threats from the area.
