Senior minister: Israel did not agree to stop strikes in Gaza

There is no agreement by Israel to stop military strikes in Gaza, says Energy Minister Eli Cohen, who is a member of the top-level security cabinet.

Speaking to Army Radio, Cohen says that “there has not been a cabinet discussion [on the Gaza plan] in the past 72 hours.”

“Any armed actor who operates, threatens, that is involved with terrorism, we will eliminate him,” says Cohen.

A Board of Peace plan that emerged late last week would see Hamas disarm and Israel pull out of Gaza, allowing a technocratic administration to take control of the Strip.

Early Sunday, Palestinian politician Mohammad Dahlan claimed that top White House aide Jared Kushner told him that he had succeeded in coaxing Israel to halt its strikes on Gaza starting Sunday, as part of that process.

Dahlan has since walked back that claim, with Israel continuing to carry out airstrikes on Saturday and early Sunday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to comment publicly on the plan, but a pair of statements attributed to a “senior Israeli official” had indicated that Jerusalem did not deem the proposal sufficient and was unprepared to retreat militarily.

Cohen says he doesn’t believe that Hamas will go along with the Board of Peace disarmament plan released last week, despite its ostensible agreement.

“We will of course give the opportunity” for it to succeed, says Cohen, noting that Israel prefers that Hamas disarm through diplomatic means.