Report: PM promised Smotrich talks for truce deal’s 2nd phase will only start if ministers OK it

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has committed to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that negotiations on the second phase of the ongoing ceasefire and hostage deal will only begin after the security cabinet greenlights the move, Kan news reports.

The unsourced report claims that a clause stipulating as much was approved weeks ago, in the same cabinet meeting that okayed the deal with Hamas.

Smotrich demanded the measure as a condition for staying in the government, the report says. The far-right leader has threatened to bolt the coalition if fighting doesn’t resume after the first phase ends on March 2.

Last night, Kan reported, citing unnamed Israeli sources, that talks are ongoing for holding negotiations on phase two in Qatar next week, though this depends on whether Netanyahu will approve this and give Israel’s team a sufficient mandate.

The report also claimed that Hamas has warned mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States that it won’t release the next batch of three hostages this coming Saturday, citing alleged Israeli violations of the deal — namely the delay in letting caravans and rubble-clearing equipment into Gaza from Egypt.

Unlike last week, according to the public broadcaster, the Palestinian terror group is considering saving the announcement that it won’t free the next three hostages closer to the end of the week, leaving less time to resolve the potential crisis.