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00:00Well, we're joined now by the spokesperson of the Israeli government, David Mensah.
00:04Thank you very much for speaking to us on France 24.
00:07I would like to start first by getting your reaction to that meeting between the U.S. president and Ahmed Al-Shara.
00:17To be with you. This is a matter for the U.S. as far as Israel is concerned.
00:22We have no better friend in the world than the United States.
00:26I was in the White House when President Trump hosted Prime Minister Netanyahu.
00:32It was the first international leader to be invited into the White House barely days after President Trump took over,
00:40before Emmanuel Macron, before Prime Minister Salma of the U.K.
00:45So we're in no doubt of our friendship with the U.S.A.
00:49It's a mutually beneficial friendship in many, many ways.
00:52We share the same vision of many, many things in the world, but we share the same threats as well.
00:57So that's our perspective of these meetings.
01:01You mentioned the French president, Emmanuel Macron.
01:04On Tuesday night, he was speaking to French television and he said Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip blocking aid deliveries was unacceptable.
01:13What do you say to that?
01:14Well, there is one easy way to end this war tomorrow.
01:21Hamas must release every single hostage.
01:23That's what President Macron should say.
01:25Hamas should lay down its arms, surrender.
01:28And until then, we keep fighting with force and with principle.
01:33The release of one hostage the day before yesterday, Edan Alexander, just proves one thing.
01:38It proves that military pressure against Hamas works.
01:42Hamas understands strength, not sympathy.
01:45There are 58 of our hostages living and those of which Hamas have already killed.
01:50They're still underground.
01:51We will not rest until every single one is home.
01:55So every child which is suffering in Gaza is suffering because of Hamas.
02:01They started this war and they can end it today with one decision.
02:06Lay down your arms and let us bring our people home.
02:10Donald Trump also in that meeting, going back to his meeting with Ahmed al-Sharah, he asked him to normalize relations with Israel.
02:18What do you think about that?
02:19Is that something that you can see happening in the near future?
02:24Well, we thank President Trump for his efforts in his first term for the to spread the Abraham Accords.
02:30It was momentous.
02:32It was one of the reasons why Hamas attacked us.
02:34They couldn't stand us making peace with the forces of moderation and of modernity in the Middle East.
02:42Look, there is a consensus here in Israel to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia.
02:48We believe there's a consensus amongst the leadership of Saudi Arabia as well.
02:54But obviously, the conditions have to be right.
02:57So it will happen.
02:58Please God, it will happen because the forces of moderation need to get together and stand up to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is what Hamas is.
03:09They're our enemy here, but they're also a Saudi enemy as well.
03:12And they're enemy of France as well, which is just a reminder to President Macron.
03:16So we're standing firm against this terrorist organization.
03:20We're in favor of negotiations.
03:22That's why our team is in Doha right now.
03:25Our prime minister sent them yesterday to go to Doha to see if we can get our hostages out through diplomacy.
03:31But in the meantime, these discussions will take place under military threat because that's what Hamas understands.
03:37And that's what gets results.
03:38The prime minister said that the military would proceed to a more intensive phase of its fighting in Gaza, but said that it would wait for Donald Trump's visit to the Middle East before it actually put that into place.
03:51Look, the prime minister has said that with the release of our hostage on Monday, it is leading to negotiations for a release of our hostages.
04:11Now, let me tell you, Israel has already accepted the Witkoff framework, and it is Hamas, the terror organization, that has refused to accept it.
04:22It's a phased deal.
04:24Israel has expressed their agreement.
04:26Hamas need to release the hostages.
04:28But look, once Hamas stopped releasing the hostages, that meant that Israel had no other option but to put pressure on Hamas.
04:37Hamas keeps saying no.
04:39The pressure now should be on Hamas to release our hostages, to lay down their arms, and that would avoid any further conflicts.
04:45But let's be blunt here.
04:47We've called up tens of thousands of our service people precisely for that reason.
04:52Jihadis hate losing territory, and we will increase our military effort against Hamas, and we will take more of Gaza exponentially.
05:02We will increase our pressure on Gaza exponentially, particularly for the point to put pressure on Hamas, moving civilians out of harm's way, putting pressure on Hamas until they're no longer there.
05:15All right.
05:15That's all we have time for.
05:16Thank you very much for speaking to France 24, David Mensah, the Israeli government spokesperson.
05:22That's it from me at The World Today.
05:24Thank you for watching France 24.
05:25More news is up next.