From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
Sa’ar: Israel to begin talks on phase 2 of hostage deal this week, demanding complete demilitarization of Gaza
Israel will begin negotiations on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, including an exchange of the remaining Israeli hostages for Palestinian security prisoners, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar says, adding that Israel demands a complete demilitarization of the enclave.
Sa’ar says the talks will begin “this week.”
“We had a security cabinet meeting last night. We decided to open negotiations on the second phase. It will happen this week,” Saar says of the talks, which were originally supposed to start on February 3.
Sa’ar also says Israel will not accept any scenario in which Gaza terror groups maintain weapons.
A “Hezbollah model” in Gaza would not be acceptable to Israel “and therefore we need a total demilitarization of Gaza and no presence of the Palestinian Authority,” Saar says in a press conference.
He adds that Israel was aware of an alternative plan by Arab states for Gaza made to counter US President Donald Trump’s proposal to redevelop the Strip under US control, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said is worthy of exploration.
Israel will not support a plan that would see civilian control of Gaza transferred from Hamas to the Palestinian Authority, Sa’ar adds.
