“Israel will exercise security control from the Jordan River to the sea, and this also applies to the Gaza Strip.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared this.

"I've heard that I will allow the creation of a Palestinian state in Gaza, but that hasn't happened and won't happen. I think you all know that I'm the person who has repeatedly blocked the creation of a Palestinian state," he said.

At a press conference, the Israeli prime minister said he had always believed that "through a combination of military and diplomatic pressure , we could, and would, bring all our hostages home."

Israel, he added, is now focusing on two objectives: "Disarming Hamas and demilitarizing Gaza."

(Unioneonline)