Day 489 - Trump's Gaza plan pleases some MKs, alarms others

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute
audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and
the Jewish world.


Political correspondent Sam Sokol and
reporter Diana Bletter join host Jessica
Steinberg for today's episode.


Sokol discusses the variety of reactions from Knesset members to
the remarks made by US President Donald Trump suggesting the
relocation of Gazans from the Strip during the expected long
reconstruction period. He looks at the predictably pleased
statements from the far-right flank of the government, including
former national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance
Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and the more guarded comments of
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid and National Unity party leader
Benny Gantz.


Bletter reports on her trips to several northern villages, where
residents are waiting to see if the ceasefire with Hezbollah will
hold. Her visit to Alawite village Ghajar, the Jewish town of
Mattat and the Druze village of Hurfeish left her with an
impression of residents eager to return to regular life but
unsure as to what the future may hold.


Please see today's ongoing live blog for more
updates.


Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple
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podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.


For further reading:


Ben Gvir says he’ll return to government if PM implements
Trump’s Gaza transfer plan


Smotrich says he supports Saudi normalization, but not if
it means ending war


Lapid: We need to ‘study the details to understand’
Trump’s plan for Gaza


Gantz welcomes Trump’s Gaza comments: ‘Creative, original
and interesting thinking’


‘Fear is now in our DNA’: With pause in Hezbollah
attacks, two border towns regroup


As Alawite village on Israel-Lebanon border reopens,
locals fear for relatives in Syria


IMAGE: Displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the
northern Gaza Strip via Rashid Street located on the sea, on
February 5, 2025 (Photo by Ali Hassan/Flash90)


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