In 12 months, ‘Israel will have won’ the war & ‘many peace agreements’ will follow, says minister Dermer

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer is known to operate mostly behind the scenes and rarely speaks to the press, which is why remarks like those he made at the Jewish News Syndicate conference in Jerusalem on Monday draw all the more attention.

One year from today, Dermer said, “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.”

However, Dermer, who is among Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s closest confidantes and was a member of the war cabinet, explained that achieving victory over Hamas would be key to attracting peace partners.

“In the Middle East, when you win, when you’re strong, that’s what attracts others,” he said.

Dermer also reiterated that the government intends to achieve all war goals, including the destruction of Hamas and the return of the hostages.

“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 said.

In a rare podcast appearance around a year ago, Dermer argued that Hamas would have to be defeated before a real plan for the “day after” could be created.

Any plan put forward by Israel would be “dead on arrival,” and would be automatically opposed by any local faction, Dermer said at the time. Therefore, the international community and moderate Arab States, especially in the Gulf region, should be an integral part of the post-war plan, he said.

“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, forget about the war, just return the hostages,” Dermer continued during his interview with JNS CEO Alex Traiman.

“We’re not going to do that. That’s not where Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu is. It’s not where I am,” he emphasized.

The strategic affairs minister has led the hostage negotiations in recent months and has come under criticism from hostage families, many of whom demand a deal to return all remaining hostages at once, even at the price of letting Hamas survive.

In his remarks, Dermer stressed that every Israeli has someone close to them involved in the war and wants to see it end.

“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,” Dermer affirmed.