Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday reiterated that Hamas will be “disarmed” either the “easy way or the hard way.”

“Our opposition to a Palestinian state in any territory has not changed. Gaza will be demilitarised, and Hamas will be disarmed, the easy way or the hard way,” Netanyahu said at a weekly cabinet meeting. 

His statements come a day before the UN Security Council’s vote on a resolution endorsing US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, which would mandate a “Board of Peace” in Gaza to address issues including post-war reconstruction and economic recovery.

Addressing the alleged “non-demilitarisation” of the Hamas-controlled parts of Gaza, Netanyahu said that “there will be no such thing.”

Trump’s 20-step plan for a ceasefire calls for the demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip and a commitment for Hamas to disarm. However, a big question that remains in the plan is how Hamas, which has not fully accepted this step, would disarm.  

“Even in the 20-point plan, and in everything else, this territory will be demilitarised, and Hamas will be disarmed, the easy way or the hard way. This is what I said, and this is what President Trump also said,” Netanyahu added. 

Regarding the Palestinian state, he said, “Our opposition to a Palestinian state anywhere west of the Jordan River exists and has not changed even a bit.”