By Dave DeCamp / Antiwar.com
Whether or not the Gaza ceasefire deal is fully implemented depends on a meeting between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that will be held at the White House this Tuesday, Axios reported on Sunday.
Under the deal, Israel and Hamas were set to start talks on the second phase on Monday, but Netanyahu has decided not to send his negotiators to Qatar until after his meeting with Trump.
Israeli officials told Axios that Netanyahu hopes to convince Trump to support Israel restarting the genocidal war after the first phase, which involves a 42-day ceasefire. One official said that if the second phase isn’t implemented, Israel would likely conduct military operations in Gaza for at least a year with the goal of toppling Hamas, which has replaced the fighters.
Trump’s envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, has been saying he’s working for the full implementation of the deal. But Trump himself has called for Egypt and Jordan to take in the Palestinian population in Gaza, a plan that would amount to ethnic cleansing and would require war since it would be resisted by Hamas. Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab states have also firmly opposed the idea.
Netanyahu left for the US on Sunday after canceling a meeting with his negotiators and telling them not to travel to Qatar for the talks. “Netanyahu made this decision without even holding a discussion with the negotiations team and hearing them out. He prefers not to do anything until the meeting with Trump,” an Israeli official said.
In the meantime, the Gaza ceasefire continues to be shaky. While the hostage exchanges have continued, Israeli forces have killed over 80 Palestinians since the truce went into effect on January 19, and reports say the amount of aid entering Gaza isn’t sufficient, a problem that could be exacerbated by Israel’s ban on the UN’s Palestinian relief agency, UNRWA.
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Dave DeCamp
Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.
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