PM said to condition deal’s 2nd phase on end of Hamas presence in Gaza, no PA rule
Israel reportedly readying for potential resumption of war if ceasefire collapses, amassing troops and equipment along Gaza border; delegation yet to depart for latest Doha talks
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told cabinet ministers during a recent meeting that Israel’s conditions in upcoming negotiations on the terms of the second phase of the ceasefire and hostage release deal are for the Hamas terror group to disarm and have no presence in Gaza, and for the Palestinian Authority to be barred from the post-war management of the enclave, Israeli television reported Tuesday.
The Channel 12 news report came after the security cabinet met Monday night to discuss negotiations for the second stage of the ceasefire agreement, which have yet to begin despite originally being expected to start on February 3. Kan news said Netanyahu is also demanding the demilitarization of the Strip.
Following the meeting, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Tuesday that the talks on the second phase — which is expected to provide for the release of all remaining hostages, the withdrawal of all IDF troops from Gaza and the end of the war — would begin “this week.”
Hinting at the stance Israel is expected to adopt in the upcoming negotiations, Sa’ar warned that Jerusalem “will not accept the continued presence of Hamas or any other terrorist organization in Gaza.”
But, he added, if the negotiations are constructive, Israel will remain engaged and may prolong the ceasefire.
“If we will see there is a constructive dialogue with a possible horizon of getting to an agreement (then) we will make this timeframe work longer,” he said.
It is unclear how Netanyahu’s reported demands regarding the ousting of Hamas, which reflect his public insistence that the terror group must be completely destroyed, can be reconciled with his pledge to secure the release of all remaining Israeli captives. Many analysts have assessed that the only way to enable the release of all the hostages would be for Israel to agree to end the war with the terror group functional in Gaza in some form, a scenario Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected.
Although Sa’ar said that the security cabinet had agreed to begin phase two talks later this week, an Israeli official told the Times of Israel that the negotiating team was still awaiting approval to head to Qatar for the talks.
To that end, Netanyahu told cabinet ministers that there would be a separate meeting held regarding the phase two negotiations before the Israeli delegation departs for Doha.
He also asked ministers not to leak what was discussed during Monday night’s meeting, Channel 12 said, and explained that doing so would risk the lives of the hostages.
Citing unnamed Israeli sources, the Kan public broadcaster reported that Israel’s delegation will not depart for Doha before US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff returns to Israel later this week.
Dermer at the helm
When it does depart, the delegation will be headed by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Netanyahu’s longtime confidant, after the premier pushed aside the heads of the Shin Bet, Mossad and IDF hostage point man Nitzan Alon, with whom he sparred throughout the negotiations.
The security chiefs have long felt that a deal could and should have been reached earlier but that political considerations in Israel hampered those efforts.
Some families of the hostages are concerned about Dermer’s appointment to head the negotiating team, Channel 12 reported, due to his ostensible hardline views.
The families pointed to cited Dermer made in recent meetings with them, in which they cited him saying that he would not support any hostage deal that brings about an end to the war before Hamas has been fully dismantled.
Since the first phase of the ceasefire and hostage release deal came into effect on January 19, Hamas has released 19 Israeli civilians and female soldiers, along with five Thai nationals.
All six remaining living hostages slated to be released in the first phase of the deal are to be freed this Saturday, in a surprise move reportedly linked to growing worries that the deal could collapse. Hamas will also return the bodies of four hostages on Thursday, and another four the following Thursday.
Fifty-nine Israelis will remain in captivity after the completion of phase one of the deal, 24 of whom are believed to be alive. The other 35 have been confirmed dead by Israeli authorities.
All at once?
Unlike the first phase of the deal which required Hamas to release several hostages each week over the course of six weeks, Kan reported on Tuesday that the terror group submitted an offer to Israel via mediators to release all the hostages in phase two at once, instead of a gradual process.
The offer stems from the terrorist organization’s desire to prevent Israel from resuming the war, the report said, and as a way for it to prioritize its own survival, even over the issue of the Palestinian security prisoners who are also slated to be released in phase two.
Even as Israel readies for negotiations regarding phase two, it is also preparing for the potential resumption of fighting in the event that the deal collapses, with large amounts of troops and equipment being amassed along the Gaza border, Channel 12 reported.
The report added that the return to fighting, should it occur, will be substantial but complex, given that roughly two dozen living hostages are still being held throughout Gaza.
Amid the ongoing ceasefire in Gaza, the IDF has continued to take action against Palestinians it deems to be posing a threat to troops or violating the terms of the truce agreement.
On Tuesday, it said it fired warning shots at Palestinian suspects who approached troops and “posed a threat” in several areas of the Strip.
In one incident in southern Gaza, the IDF said forces opened fire directly on a suspect who did not withdraw after warning shots.
Additionally, the military said that a drone strike was carried out as a warning in central Gaza to prevent a vehicle from driving to the Strip’s north via an unapproved route.
Vehicular traffic is only permitted on the Salah a-Din road, where a private company is inspecting Palestinian cars heading north.
“The IDF calls the residents of Gaza to follow its instructions and avoid approaching the troops deployed in the area,” the military warned.
Agencies contributed to this report.
