Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said resettling Gaza was “never in the cards” for what would happen once Israel’s war against Hamas concludes.

The Israeli leader has faced criticism from other government and military officials about the seeming lack of forward planning for the “day after,” while ultraconservative members of his own party have called for the annexation of the strip.

“I said so openly. Some of my constituents are not happy about it, but that‘s my position,” he said during a CNN interview on Wednesday.

He also shared some insights but not many details of what he wants to see occur following the conclusion of the war.

Once Israel defeats Hamas, its forces will oversee a sustained demilitarization of Gaza while there is a civilian administration set up without Hamas ties. Additionally, the “moderate Arab states and the international community” would then assist with the reconstruction of Gaza, he said.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, an ultranationalist politician whose alliance secured the parliamentary votes necessary for Netanyahu’s governing majority, has called for Israel to annex the Gaza Strip.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said last week, “I will not agree to the establishment of Israeli military rule in Gaza. Israel must not establish civilian rule in Gaza.”

The International Criminal Court has announced its filing for arrest warrants for both Gallant and Netanyahu, along with three Hamas leaders, this week, whom the court’s top prosecutor has argued may have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Israelis and the United States, among some European allies, have denounced the court’s decision.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Karim Khan, the ICC prosecutor, has created “a twisted and false moral equivalence between the leaders of Israel and the henchmen of Hamas,” Netanyahu said in a video released by his office. “This is like creating a moral equivalence after Sept. 11 between President Bush and Osama Bin Laden or during World War II between FDR and Hitler.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee he wants to work with Congress “to find an appropriate response” to the ICC’s pursuit of arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.