Hamas claims that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sabotaging the ceasefire agreement in Gaza and that the Israeli government is not participating in negotiations for the deal’s second phase, which is scheduled to end on March 1.
Although the second and third phases of the agreement are understood to be in principle agreed upon, they were supposed to be negotiated during the six-week first phase, which saw the release of Israeli prisoners in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, the partial withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, and the aid delivery into the enclave ravaged by the 15-month Israeli bombardment. Per the deal, which started on January 19, the second phase, if finalised, would see the release of all the Israeli captives and a permanent ceasefire.
Basem Naim, a senior member of the Hamas political bureau, told Al Jazeera on Saturday that the right-wing government is playing dirty games to sabotage, derail, and send a message of willingness to go back to war.
He claimed that Gaza’s Palestinian government has continued to support the agreement and has complied with its obligations.
He claimed that Israel had broken the agreement’s terms. “Over 100 Palestinians were killed in the first phase, a large portion of the agreed humanitarian aid was not flown into Gaza,” Naim said. “The military division that divides Gaza into north and south was postponed” due to the withdrawal from the Netzarim Corridor.
Earlier this month, Israeli officials confirmed to The New York Times that Hamas’s claims against Israel’s violations of the deal were accurate. However, they have been formally denied by the Israeli government.
Israel had agreed to let 200 000 tents and 60 000 mobile homes enter Gaza as part of the ceasefire agreement, but that requirement hasn’t been fulfilled. 2.4 million Palestinians live in Gaza, and more than 90% of their homes have been displaced, leaving a large portion of the area rubble.
Since starting its offensive on October 7, 2023, Israel has killed more than 48,319 Palestinians. More than 13, 000 people who are still unaccounted for under the rubble are said to be dead, according to the Gaza-based government media office. At least 1, 139 people were killed and some 240 people were taken captive in the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.
Netanyahu is “not interested in phase two,” he said.
Netanyahu has threatened to put the Gaza war on hold, and he has said he is “committed” to the Israeli government’s plan to “take over” the area and relocate its Palestinian residents. Trump’s current behavior gives the impression that he has abandoned that strategy.
The Israeli leader has stated on numerous occasions that he is determined to accomplish the objectives of the Gaza war, including destroying Hamas’s military and governing capacities. Additionally, his cabinet is yet to decide whether the conditions for the transition to the second phase of the Gaza truce agreement have been met.
Netanyahu’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer will lead the negotiations involving Hamas in phase two of the ceasefire agreement, according to Israeli media reports on Tuesday. The previous round of discussions was led by Shin Bet’s Ronen Bar and Dedi Barnea’s Mossad’s Dedi Barnea.
The appointment of Dermer, a long-time friend of Netanyahu, to lead the Israeli negotiating team, according to political analyst Xavier Abu Eid, has a significant impact on how the negotiations will turn out in the long run.
“It makes a big difference because Dermer is someone who works for Netanyahu, not for the]Israeli] state”, he said.
Nour Odeh, a spokesperson for Al Jazeera, said: “This is the pattern we have seen over the past weeks: Israel meets with the US, meets with the mediators, and then decides what can be resolved.”
” On March 1, phase one of the ceasefire ends. Everyone is left wondering whether the ceasefire can survive, she said from Amman, the capital of Jordan. “Without a commitment from both sides to keep talking and maintain calm, everyone is left wondering.”
Former Israeli ambassador and consul general Alon Pinkas in New York asserted to Al Jazeera that the holding of the first phase does not necessarily indicate that the second phase will be more challenging.
Netanyahu is not interested in phase two, which is the reason. On day 42, which will be a week from now, Israel will reduce its force in Gaza. On day 50, it includes not just a force reduction, but a withdrawal, “Pinkas told Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv.
He claimed that the ceasefire would put an end to the conflict, which the Israeli prime minister does not support.
” Politically, he can afford neither the withdrawal nor the official end of the war, “he added.
Hamas is prepared to give up its position in Gaza’s governance.
If the Israeli-occupied Gaza ceasefire is broken, it will enrage Israeli citizens who are still being held there to stay in the region.
The captives’ families have already voiced their protests in Tel Aviv, with the majority of the captives’ advocates calling on the Israeli government to stop the deal from being broken.
According to Al Jazeera’s Odeh, Netanyahu’s families have serious doubts about their desire to have all the captives freed in accordance with the ceasefire agreement.
“Allies of Netanyahu have made it clear that they have no intention of starting phase two and do not think Israel should be putting an end to the conflict,” they said. They are even urging Israel to annex parts of the Gaza Strip, making it possible for them to return to bombing Gaza.
The Israeli government and many in Israel have been vocal opponents of the ceasefire, arguing that Hamas’s complete defeat should set the stage for the conflict in Gaza.
On Saturday, the Hamas leader declared that his organization was ready to give up its leadership position in Gaza.
Before October 7 [2023], he stated repeatedly that he and other members of the Palestinian people were willing to renounce the governing position in the Gaza Strip and to allow any Palestinian unity government, technocratic government, or any alternative that was chosen by the Palestinians under the Palestinian consensus.
Naim expressed his satisfaction with an Egyptian proposal to form a committee in collaboration with Ramallah’s Palestinian Authority government to govern all aspects of life in Gaza.
Hamas was established as a national Palestinian resistance movement with clear objectives, including “to achieve the Palestinian genuine and national goals of statehood, self-determination, and the right to return,” according to the official.
Source: Aljazeera
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