Phase shift: Netanyahu is accused of delaying the implementation of the Gas plan

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is delaying the withdrawal of troops from the Gaza Strip and the opening of the Rafah checkpoint, delaying the implementation of the second phase of the US peace plan. This was stated to Izvestia by Ahmed Majdalani, a member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). At the same time, the establishment of the Gaza governance committee paves the way for the disarmament of the Hamas movement and the reconstruction of the region. According to Majdalani, Hamas has previously agreed to discuss the surrender of weapons. On January 14, the Special Envoy of the President of the United States, Steve Witkoff, announced the start of the second phase of the Gaza peace plan. What problems the next stage of the settlement is facing is described in the Izvestia article.

Transition to the second phase of the Gas plan

In Palestine, Benjamin Netanyahu was accused of deliberately delaying the opening of the Rafah checkpoint and the withdrawal of troops from the Gaza Strip, despite the transition to the second phase of the exclave peace plan announced on January 14. Ahmed Majdalani, a member of the PLO executive committee, told Izvestia about this. According to him, the Israeli Prime Minister is postponing the implementation of the second stage until the date of early elections is announced. This is how he tries to avoid a crushing political defeat, which Israeli opinion polls have been recording for more than a year.

— The creation of the National Committee in practice means moving to the second phase of the Trump plan and resolution No. 2803. He faces a whole range of difficult tasks in a complex reality, from interacting with the Peace Council and its chairman, Nikolai Mladenov, to managing the internal social, economic and domestic situation in the Gaza Strip," Ahmed Majdalani said.

Speaking about the tasks of the Palestinian Committee, Majdalani noted that special attention is being paid to ensuring the safety of citizens who have long suffered from both Israeli attacks and the arbitrariness of the armed groups of Hamas. The Palestinian Police should play a key role by extending its presence to all areas of the strip.

Finally, the committee will have to return normal life to the population. The priority is humanitarian aid, the restoration of infrastructure, medical and educational services, the opening of roads and the clearing of rubble, which will prepare for the holding of general elections and the renewal of the Palestinian political system.

The transition to the second phase is accompanied by the creation of the so-called "Peace Council" on the initiative of US President Donald Trump. Invitations to join it were sent to a number of foreign leaders, including Vladimir Putin. Moscow has not yet made a final decision on participation. As Russian President Vladimir Putin stated at the Security Council meeting, the Russian Foreign Ministry has been instructed to study the received documents and consult with strategic partners. After that, an official response will be given. At the same time, the Russian leader announced his readiness to send $1 billion from assets previously frozen in the West to the council's fund, stressing that the key task should be a long-term settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on UN decisions, taking into account the legitimate interests of the Palestinian people. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already announced his readiness to join the council, but European powers were skeptical about the initiative. The media reported that the heads of Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy and Sweden refused to participate.

Show an alternative: Israel against Turkey and Qatar's participation in the Peace Council

Trump's initiative is also causing skepticism among European allies, but Washington continues to promote the idea.

The Kremlin said that the Russian Federation still has a lot of questions on the topic of the "Peace Council", so Moscow hopes to get answers to them in contact with the Americans. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed that Russia would respond positively to Trump's idea if it helped resolve the Middle East crisis. However, he added that stability in the region is unlikely to occur without a Palestinian state.

The body of one hostage remains in Gaza.

On January 14, US President's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed the launch of the second phase of the peace plan, which includes the creation of a transitional technocratic administration, the disarmament of Hamas and the movement from a truce to the reconstruction of the region. On the same day, the Foreign Ministries of Egypt, Qatar and Turkey announced the formation of a Palestinian technocrat committee headed by Ali Shaas, who previously served as deputy minister for the development of industrial zones.

Hamas spokesman Bassem Naim said the movement welcomes the creation of a transitional committee and hopes for an end to the division among the Palestinians and the formation of a national unity government.

Israel did not agree on the creation of the committee, stating that it was inconsistent with its political interests. Roman Yanushevsky, editor-in-chief of the website of the 9th Israeli TV channel, noted that the body of Ran Gvili, abducted on October 7, 2023, has not yet been returned by Hamas militants. He warned of a serious threat: the militants could delay the transfer of the remains of the last hostage in Gaza.

"With all the optimistic prospects, there remains a real and disturbing problem that everyone is trying to ignore — it is the unarmed Hamas," Yanushevsky emphasized in an interview with Izvestia. According to him, this threat explains why no one is in a hurry to participate in the international contingent in the Gaza Strip.

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said that Washington expects the full fulfillment of Hamas' obligations, including the return of Gvili's body, and warned of serious consequences in the event of a breakdown in the agreements.

The issue of the disarmament of Hamas remains a separate and most sensitive element of the second phase. Some of its representatives signaled their readiness to hand over heavy weapons, while retaining light weapons. According to American officials, despite Israel's skepticism, demonstrative signals from Hamas make disarmament a real possibility.

The plan provides for the complete surrender of heavy weapons and a possible program of "buyback" of light weapons — rifles, pistols and submachine guns — with payment to the owners.

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According to Majdalani, the disarmament of the Hamas movement is becoming one of the main challenges for the Gaza governance committee. The success of the plan's implementation directly depends on the movement's willingness to surrender their weapons. A member of the PLO executive committee drew attention to the fact that Hamas has already moved from a complete rejection to a preliminary agreement to discuss this issue, conducting dialogues with the American and Israeli sides.

Security expert Mohammed al-Masri told Izvestia that Israel is slowing down the start of the second phase of the Gaza plan under various pretexts.:

—Interested parties — partners and intermediaries — remain in Gaza to achieve the return of the body, while about 10,400 bodies of Palestinians still remain under the ruins," the expert emphasized. Regarding the disarmament of Hamas, al-Masri noted that the factions agreed among themselves to collect weapons and not use them, and their transfer to the Egyptians or the Palestinian authority may be a solution, but not a precondition for the transition to the second phase.

Trump himself declares confidence that with the support of mediators in the person of Egypt, Turkey and Qatar, the complete disarmament of the Palestinian movement will be ensured.