The Israeli government will finish the war against Hamas and return the hostages, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer declared at the JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem on Monday night.

“There are people you’ll meet in Israel who say, you know, forget about the hostages, just finish the war. And the people who say, finish, you know, forget about the war, just return the hostages,” Dermer told JNS CEO and Israel Bureau Chief Alex Traiman during an interview.

“We’re not going to do that. That’s not where Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu is. It’s not where I am,” said Dermer, who has led the indirect negotiations for a hostage deal with the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza in recent weeks.

“I think we have to work on achieving those goals, and we’ve gone pretty far, and what will happen the ‘day after’ in Gaza is a discussion—lots of discussions we’ve had behind the scenes,” he added.

However, 12 months from now, Jerusalem’s seven-front war across the Middle East will be “over,” he declared, adding, “Israel will have won.

“I think you will see many peace agreements that either have been forged or will be forged in the coming years of President Trump’s presidency,” Dermer predicted.

“But the key to that, and this is important to remember, is victory. In the Middle East, when you win, when you’re strong, that’s what attracts others,” he said.

“You never want to have daylight with the United States if you can afford not to have daylight,” Dermer said of Jerusalem’s relations with the American administration. “It’s never a good thing, because it sends a message to Israel’s friends and Israel’s enemies when we are aligned with the United States.

“A public disagreement is never in your interest unless you have a vital national interest, where sometimes you have to air that. Otherwise, you try to resolve these things behind the scenes,” Dermer said. “And I think in Trump’s first term, that’s exactly what happened.

“I think it’s important to understand that Israelis would love to see the war end—every Israeli. Anyone who has a son, a brother, a nephew, a niece or a daughter in the army wants the war to be over,” he said.

According to Dermer, “That’s not the real question. The real question is: Do you end the war with a victory or with a defeat? Do you accept the terms of those who committed the atrocities of October 7, or not?

“We are going to dismantle Hamas’s military capabilities and end its rule in Gaza. We will ensure that Gaza can never again pose a threat to the State of Israel. And we are committed to bringing all our hostages home. These are the goals we have set, and we fully intend to achieve them,” vowed Dermer.

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