President Donald Trump's diplomatic pressure on countries that once backed Hamas has left the group in a "very compromised position," Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Leiter told Newsmax Monday.
"Hamas hasn't completely agreed, of course not," Leiter told Newsmax's "The Record With Greta Van Susteren."
"But they're in a very compromised position now because the president — with diplomatic suave — has moved the supporters of Hamas, Qatar, Turkey, and Egypt into a position where they're telling Hamas they had better comply with the basic outline of the plan."
The ambassador's remarks come as negotiations continue over a U.S.-backed proposal that links a ceasefire to hostage releases and security guarantees. Trump has repeatedly framed his diplomatic strategy as one aimed at isolating Hamas while building a broader coalition of Arab states committed to long-term stability in the region.
The Trump administration's efforts have forced regional governments that once acted as intermediaries or backers to pressure Hamas to accept the proposed framework for ending the conflict, Leiter said.
"Hopefully, we'll see at least the first part of the plan implemented, in which all the hostages will be released — the dead and the living — and Israel will withdraw another 20% —approximately 20% — of the area to an agreed-upon line," he said.
"The president has released that line. It's a yellow line that we've negotiated. And then we'll move into the second phase, where an international body will disarm Hamas."
The ambassador said Israel's position has remained consistent: The war will end only when Gaza is fully demilitarized and Hamas is dismantled.
"Look, we've been consistent from the very beginning that our agenda to end this war is that we never again have a jihadi militant group on our border," he said.
"Look what happened the other day in Manchester [England]: One man by the name of Jihad rammed into worshippers on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, and then went out stabbing. That's one jihadi.
"We have 40,000 of those jihadists living once again on our border. That's exactly what happened on Oct. 7. We can never go back to that situation," Leiter said.
Trump's plan "lays out very clearly that there will never again be this kind of jihadi terror organization on Israel's borders," he said.
"Gaza has to be demilitarized completely, and only an international agency can handle that. The president took on the responsibility of being the chairman of what he called the 'Board of Peace.'
"This is very significant, the president of the United States heading up that board. I think it's a tremendous diplomatic accomplishment on the part of the president, and we are moving forward on this plan," Leiter said.
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