The Minister of Economy said that the ceasefire agreement with Hamas is not a strategic victory for Israel
The recent cease-fire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas is not a “strategic” victory for the Jewish state, Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat told CNBC.
The deal, announced last week, has so far freed Israeli hostages, replaced Palestinian prisoners and, if respected by all sides, would continue to see its captives and end a devastating 15-month war between the two rivals.
Still speaking at the World Economic Forum, Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat told CNBC’s Dan Murphy on Tuesday, “I don’t think it’s a strategic victory. A strategic victory is bringing peace to the Middle East.”
Such an outcome would prevent Hamas’ historic ally Iran, Barkat Tehran, from achieving its stated goal of “wiping Israel off the map.”
“We have to make sure they never have this. There are traces of Iran all over our region, all over October 7,” the minister said, referring to a 2023 attack by Hamas in Israel that killed 1,200 and took more. Over 200 hostages.
“We have to make sure they pay a heavy price for that,” he said, adding that Israel should pursue “jihadists” in Lebanon, the Gaza Strip and “all over the world” and expand the Abraham Accords – a set of agreements to normalize Arab-Israeli relations.
“This is a strategic victory,” Barkat said.
People walk home through the devastated streets of Gaza City on January 19, 2025. T
Abod Abu Salama Afp | Getty Images
Israel responded to the October 7 attack by Hamas with relentless bombardment of Gaza and severely limited food and aid supplies, killing more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials.
The United Nations and the World Health Organization, along with many other international aid agencies, have described the situation in Gaza as a “humanitarian catastrophe” as the destruction of hospitals and critical infrastructure exacerbates hunger and disease on the ground.
Since a cease-fire agreement was reached, the amount Help is entering the enclosure He added.
Israel’s economy minister expressed his hopes for the newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump’s administration and suggested that his leadership would be better for Israel than that of his predecessor, Joe Biden.
“President Biden, whom we thank, was limiting Israel…President Trump is supporting Israel,” Barkat said. Trump said he was proposing a tougher and more pro-Iranian path to expanding the Abraham Accords that he championed during his previous term.
“I believe that’s the right attitude in the Middle East. You have to be very aggressive with the bad guys and nice with the good guys,” he said. They understand that peace with our neighbors – with Egypt for 40 years and with Jordan for 25 years – four years (starting in 2020) of the Abrahamic Pact is in this cycle of violence. .”
The Biden administration in 2016 As of October 7, 2023, $17.9 billion in military aid to Israel was published by Brown University’s War Expenditure Project in October 2024.
