The Prime Minister of Israel had a meeting with the American envoy and son-in-law of the president, Jared Kushner, in Jerusalem. According to a representative of the Israeli prime minister, the two had a detailed discussion about the second and more complicated phase between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Disarmament, demilitarization on the menu
“They discussed the first phase, which we are currently in, with the goal of returning our remaining hostages, as well as the future of the second phase of this plan, which includes the disarmament of Hamas, the demilitarization of Gaza, and the guarantee that Hamas will no longer have any role to play in the future of Gaza,” Sush Bedrossian clarified, during a press conference.
The meeting between US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and the Israeli prime minister comes a month after Washington and regional states pressured Israel and Hamas to implement a ceasefire after two years of devastating war.
However, any progress on Trump’s cease-fire plan requires not only that the two sides agree on issues where they have failed in previous peace efforts, but also resolve the impasse over trapped Hamas militants.
What will happen to the Hamas fighters and the international stabilization force?
An official with knowledge of the details discussed at today’s meeting said the discussion also focused on both the issue of trapped fighters and an international stabilization force for Gaza under Trump’s plan.
There are about 200 fighters in the tunnels under Rafah in the Gaza Strip that the Israeli military continues to control, with Hamas demanding they be allowed to leave, a demand Israel is currently resisting.
The government spokeswoman said any decision about Israel’s policies in Gaza is made in cooperation with the Trump administration.
US envoy Steve Witkoff last week described efforts to resolve the standoff by providing fighters with safe passage into Hamas-controlled areas in exchange for disarmament as a test for next steps in the broader truce plan.
Israel does not want safe passage of Hamas fighters from Gaza
Two Western diplomats said Israel was reluctant to allow any safe passage to another area of Gaza or to Egypt.
A Hamas official said talks on the matter were continuing. Hamas wants the dispute to be resolved and “to remove any pretext that Israel could use to undermine the truce agreement”, but added that Hamas rejects the surrender of the fighters.
