Pete Hegseth and Benjamin Netanyahu

Right now in Qatar, a country playing a lot of double games these days, ceasefire negotiations set to resume between Israel and Hamas, as Israel still fights to defend itself from the brutal military attack on their country, when more than 1,200 Israelis were murdered, and still Hamas holds more than 100 hostage. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joins us live from Jerusalem with an update. Mr. Prime Minister, thank you very much for being with us. The calls for a ceasefire at this point are extortion, the other on behalf of Hamas. But you've been in the press talking a lot about the offensive in Rafah. How does that play into getting Hamas to a place where they're prepared to negotiate on your terms? Look, the only thing that gets Hamas to release the hostages is continued military pressure. That's what enabled us to bring out already half of the hostages. That's what will enable us to get the remaining hostages. At the same time, there has to be pressure, pressure from Qatar that wields enormous influence on Hamas. And they should be pressed to press them. So the fact that we're going to destroy the remaining Hamas terrorist battalions in Rafah is both important for eradicating the Hamas rule, but also important for getting the hostages out. These are complementary goals. They're not contradictory goals. How many Hamas fighters, terrorists remain in Rafah? What kind of force are we talking about? We've, Pete, we've destroyed about 19 of Hamas 24 terrorist battalions. So there are about four in Rafah. We have to destroy them. When people tell us don't go into Rafah, that's like telling the allies, listen, don't go into Berlin, leave a quarter of the Nazi army intact. You know, that's ridiculous. You know, if we leave a quarter of the Hamas fighting terrorist battalions in place, they'll regroup, reconquer Gaza, and in fact, perpetrate once again what they vowed to do, which is to repeat the October 7th massacre over and over and over again. That's not going to happen. So we need total victory over Hamas. We're within reach. We should do it. We're going to do it while we enable the civilian population in Rafah to leave, as we've done up to now. But we have to finish the job. We need total victory. There's no substitute for total victory. There's no doubt this is a fight that Israel needs to finish, considering what occurred. Yet you already hear in our media and from our leadership, we're going to get to that in a moment, renewed calls again for a two-state solution. What's your view on these calls for a Palestinian state? Well, it's not only my view. It's the view of the vast majority of Israelis who believe that at this time to have a Palestinian state would be basically a formula for creating a platform, the greatest reward for terrorism in history, and it would create a platform for attacking Israel. In fact, Hamas had a de facto Palestinian state in Gaza. And what did they use it for? To massacre Israelis and the worst savagery that was meted on Jews since the Holocaust. So, you know, we just had a vote in the Knesset the other day, 99 against 9 of the Knesset, our parliament members, voted against the attempt to impose on Israel a Palestinian state. You have to say when people say, oh, well, you know, this is Netanyahu and his fringe, you know, and fringe elements in his coalition. No, it's not. It's the vast majority of the Israeli public that understands that a Palestinian state, the way that is being envisioned, would be an enormous danger to Israel's future. So that's why they're united in resisting this. And I'm proud to lead this policy. But when I'm being criticized by various people in the United States as obstructing peace because of that, well, number one, we're not obstructing peace. We're ensuring that we don't have a catastrophic suicidal move. And second, it's not just me. It's the vast majority of Israelis. So if you want to take up the issue with the vast majority of Israelis, say so. Say you're against the vast majority of the people of Israel and don't try to personalize it, because it's not a personal thing. I'm leading the policy that most Israelis think is essential for our survival in our future. Let's talk about that criticism, Mr. Prime Minister. Here's Chuck Schumer slamming you on the Senate floor on Thursday. A new election is the only way to allow for a about the future of Israel. People on all sides of this war are turning away from a two-state solution, including Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I believe in his heart he has his highest priority, as is the security of Israel. However, I also believe Prime Minister Netanyahu has lost his way. Mr. Prime Minister, he says you've got to go. Joe Biden says he liked the speech and also said your policies are hurting Israel more than helping Israel. Your response to Chuck Schumer and the president? I think Schumer's statements are wholly inappropriate. I think we're not a banana republic. The people of Israel will choose when they'll have elections, who they'll elect, and it's not something that will be foisted upon us. It's wrong to try to replace the elected leaders of a sister democracy and a staunch American ally at any time, but especially during the time of war. Just imagine that after 9-11, and when you're in the midst of fighting al-Qaeda and winning, people will say, oh, well, the right thing people, some Israelis would say, oh, the right thing to do is now to have new elections in America or have President Bush resign. It's inappropriate, shouldn't have been said. It's wrong. As far as my considerations, they're not for my personal survival. They are for the survival of the Jewish state. And that requires pursuing the war. It's something that my government enjoys the support of the overwhelming majority of Israelis. And let me tell you something. Not only the majority of Israelis, but the majority of the American people, 82 percent support Israel consistently over the five months of the war against Hamas and not Hamas. So, you know, I don't know why President, why Senator Schumer made those statements. I think the only thing that we should be focused on is changing the regime in Gaza, bringing down the terrorist regime of Hamas and not the duly elected government of Israel. That's the right policy. Well, as you know, Donald Trump is the frontrunner on the Republican side. He was recently asked about what Joe Biden has said on this topic. Here's what he said. And all of a sudden, he dumped Israel. That's what he's doing. He dumped Israel. Well, he's not walking away. But what would be in light of why he is walking away? I mean, he just said essentially that Bibi Netanyahu should take a walk. Do you feel like you're losing support, Mr. Prime Minister? Well, I hope not. First of all, let me say that I appreciate President Trump's tremendous support for Israel. When he was president, he recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital. He moved the American embassy there. He recognized our sovereignty in the Golan Heights. He got out of the disastrous Iran nuclear deal. And he also, together, we worked and brokered the historic Abraham Accords, which brought peace with four Arab states. Equally, I appreciate the fact that right from the start of the war, President Biden stood with Israel, came here, called Hamas sheer evil, sent carrier groups, aircraft carrier groups to the region and sent us ammunition. So I hope that support will continue. But I'll tell you one thing. Look, you know, I can tell you, and I said this to President Biden early on. We had our discussions. We had some differences on whether we should enter Gaza, how we should enter Gaza and so on. And I said, I said the truth. I said, look, if we have to go it alone, we'll go it alone. But I also know that we're not alone, that the vast majority of Americans support Israel. And for a good reason, because they understand that our war is your war. Our victory is your victory, that we're fighting the same people who want to chant death to America and death to Israel. They want to see our civilization brought down, our liberties brought down, our values brought down. And that's why I think we'll continue to enjoy the support of the vast majority of the American public. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, thank you for joining us on Fox and Friends Weekend. Godspeed in your fight, sir. Thank you. Thank you.