Hamas has turned out to be a stubborn obstacle in moving ahead with a Trump sponsored ‘Peace Deal’….
The organisation won’t lay down their arms…..
In fact has consolidated power in Gaza as one of the many armed groups there….
Hard liners in Israel will NOT accept a agreement in the territory with a armed Hamas ….
While Trump wants a International Security Force to be in place in Gaza under the control of an American General?
NOBODY has a solution to de-arm Hamas with out a shooting match there….
Defense Minister Israel Katz on Thursday again insisted that Israel will never fully withdraw from the Gaza Strip and hinted at establishing outposts in the enclave, days after he sparked controversy by saying that he wanted to rebuild settlements in the northern part of the Strip
Katz appeared to be trying to walk a careful line after he had retracted his earlier comments and earned a rebuke from Washington.
“In Gaza, Israel will never fully withdraw — there will be a significant security area inside the Strip even after we move to stage two [of the peace deal] if Hamas disarms,” Katz said during a conference organized by the Makor Rishon newspaper, adding that it was necessary to protect the Israeli communities that were overrun during the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre.
“That’s what I said, that’s what I’m saying now, and that’s what I continue to say,” Katz said.
His repeated insistence that Israel will stay in Gaza is at odds with US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan, which halted the Gaza war….
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If Hamas doesn’t disarm itself, “we’ll do it,” Katz said….
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On Tuesday, Katz pledged that Israel would “never leave” the Gaza Strip and would resettle the northern part of the enclave, in defiance of commitments made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump.
He later hastily walked back his remarks.
A chorus of far-right voices in Netanyahu’s coalition have called on Israel to rebuild settlements in Gaza in the wake of the war launched by Hamas. Israel evacuated all of its settlements in Gaza, and withdrew all of its troops, under the 2005 Disengagement Plan. Under the current ceasefire, it controls roughly half the enclave….
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President Trump plans several big announcements on Gaza in early January, but the next steps hinge on his meeting on Monday at Mar-a-Lago with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Why it matters: White House officials think Netanyahu is slow-walking the peace process, and fear he will resume the war with Hamas. But while the Israeli prime minister is butting heads with Trump’s team, he hopes to bring the president himself over to his more hawkish point of view, a senior Israeli official said.
Driving the news: The White House wants to unveil a Palestinian technocratic government and International Stabilization Force for Gaza as soon as possible, and potentially even convene the Trump-led Board of Peace at the World Economic Forum in Davos later in January, White House officials say.
- Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and his adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner have been working with the Egyptians, Qataris and Turks to finalize those agreements and lay the groundwork for phase two of the deal — which involves Hamas handing over weapons and Israeli forces pulling back.
- But Netanyahu expressed skepticism over Witkoff and Kushner’s ideas, especially on the demilitarization of Gaza, in a recent meeting with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in Jerusalem, according to a source with knowledge….
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