We haven’t had much to post recently….
We NOW have an update….
The main problem with the Trump negotiated phased Gaza/Israel agreement maybe about to get resolved….
Hamas indicates that it it IS OPEN to laying down its arms to be PART of a new Palestiina State, a MUST to stop Israel from attacking its members….
Now?
Israel. WILL have to deal with a Palestian state something Netanyahu had been adminatly against…
Hamas is ready to discuss “freezing or storing” its arsenal of weapons as part of its ceasefire with Israel, a senior official said Sunday, offering a possible formula to resolve one of the thorniest issues in the U.S.-brokered agreement.
Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas’ decision-making political bureau, spoke as the sides prepare to move into the second and more complicated phase of the agreement.
“We are open to have a comprehensive approach in order to avoid further escalations or in order to avoid any further clashes or explosions,” Naim told The Associated Press in Qatar’s capital, Doha, where much of the group’s leadership is located.
The deal halted a two-year Israeli offensive in Gaza, launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Asked whether the attack was a mistake, Naim defended it as an “act of defense.”
More difficult phase
Since the truce took effect in October, Hamas and Israel have carried out a series of exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. With only the remains of one hostage still held in Gaza — an Israeli policeman killed in the Oct. 7 attack — the sides are preparing to enter the second phase.
The new phase aims to lay out a future for war-battered Gaza and promises to be even more difficult — addressing such issues as the deployment of an international security force, formation of a technocratic Palestinian committee in Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory and the disarmament of Hamas. An international board, led by President Donald Trump, is to oversee implementation of the deal and reconstruction of Gaza.
The Israeli demand for Hamas to lay down its weapons promises to be especially tricky — with Israeli officials saying this is a key demand that could hold up progress in other areas. Hamas’ ideology is deeply rooted in what it calls armed resistance against Israel, and its leaders have rejected calls to surrender despite over two years of war that left large parts of Gaza destroyed and killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Naim said Hamas retains its “right to resist,” but said the group is ready to lay down its arms as part of a process aimed at leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state…
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The ceasefire is based on a 20-point plan presented by Trump, with international “guarantor” nations, in October.
The plan, adopted by the U.N. Security Council, offered a general way forward. But it was vague on details or timelines and will require painstaking negotiations involving the U.S. and the guarantors, which include Qatar, Egypt and Turkey…
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The Palestinian Health Ministry, part of Gaza’s Hamas government, does not distinguish between civilians and militants, but says that roughly half of the dead were women and children.
Naim acknowledged the Palestinians have paid a heavy price for Oct. 7 but when asked if the group regrets carrying out the attack, he insisted it came in response to years of Israeli policies going back to the war surrounding Israel’s establishment in 1948.
“History didn’t start on Oct. 7,” he said. “Oct. 7 for us, it was an act of defense. We have done our duty to raise … the voice of our people.”….
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel and Hamas are “very shortly expected to move into the second phase of the ceasefire,” after Hamas returns the remains of the last hostage held in Gaza.
Netanyahu spoke during a news conference with visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and stressed that the second phase, which addresses the disarming of Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, could begin as soon as the end of the month.
Hamas has yet to hand over the remains of Ran Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer who was killed in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war. His body was taken to Gaza.
The ceasefire’s second stage also includes the deployment of an international force to secure Gaza and forming a temporary Palestinian government to run day-to-day affairs under the supervision of an international board led by U.S. President Donald Trump.
A senior Hamas official on Sunday told The Associated Pressthe group is ready to discuss “freezing or storing or laying down” its weapons as part of the ceasefire in a possible approach to one of the most difficult issues ahead
Netanyahu says second phase will be challenging
Netanyahu said few people believed the ceasefire’s first stage could be achieved, and the second phase is just as challenging.
“As I mentioned to the chancellor, there’s a third phase, and that is to deradicalize Gaza, something that also people believed was impossible. But it was done in Germany, it was done in Japan, it was done in the Gulf States. It can be done in Gaza, too, but of course Hamas has to be dismantled,” he said…
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