Israel Netanyahu travels to the USA - Will the ceasefire in Gaza hold?

SDA

2.2.2025 - 04:37

ARCHIVE - Donald Trump (l) meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Photo: Alex Brandon/AP/dpa/Archive image
ARCHIVE - Donald Trump (l) meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Photo: Alex Brandon/AP/dpa/Archive image
Keystone

According to Israel, negotiations on the next phase of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip are to begin tomorrow in Washington.

Keystone-SDA

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet there with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and discuss Israel's negotiating positions, the Prime Minister's Office announced. The following day, Netanyahu will meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House for his "historic meeting" and discuss the future of the devastated Gaza Strip, among other things, it said.

Trump's special envoy Witkoff will also consult with Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and senior Egyptian representatives later in the week and then speak to Netanyahu again, it was reported. They will discuss "steps to advance the negotiations, including dates for the departure of delegations to the talks".

The USA, Qatar and Egypt act as mediators between Israel and the Islamist Hamas, as they do not talk to each other directly. It was with their help that the current six-week ceasefire in Gaza came about.

Israel and Hamas had agreed during the indirect talks that they would begin negotiations on a permanent end to the war and the release of all hostages still alive on the 16th day of the ceasefire, i.e. tomorrow. Far-right Israeli politicians have threatened to leave the government if Netanyahu goes through with this second phase of the ceasefire agreement and risks the collapse of his coalition.

Thousands in Israel demand release of all hostages

Before Netanyahu's departure for Washington today, thousands of demonstrators in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem demanded the release of further hostages held by the Islamist Hamas. Relatives of the abductees urged the implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement. They are concerned that this will not even happen and that the war will continue.

Following the release of three further abductees, 79 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip, 35 of whom are dead according to Israeli reports. The next abductees are due to be released next weekend. The agreement came into force on January 19. It provides for the release of 33 hostages in exchange for 1,904 Palestinian prisoners within six weeks in the first phase. Hamas recently announced that eight of the 33 were dead. It is unclear exactly who they are. 18 hostages have now been released.

Netanyahu said that Israel would continue to work resolutely for the release of all remaining hostages and for "the achievement of all war aims". One of Israel's war aims is the complete destruction of Hamas. If no agreement is reached in the upcoming negotiations, the fighting could continue, the head of government recently threatened.

Netanyahu also wants to talk to Trump about Iran

At his "historic meeting" with Trump on Tuesday, "the hostages, dealing with all elements of the Iranian axis and other key issues" will be on the agenda, Netanyahu's office added. In addition to Hamas in Gaza, Iran's allies include Hezbollah in Lebanon, which has also been militarily weakened by Israel, and the Houthi militia in Yemen.

Netanyahu is likely to be the first head of government from abroad to be received by Trump as president. Netanyahu's office also emphasized this. This is seen as a strong gesture of support for Israel's right-wing prime minister, who has come under heavy international criticism for his conduct of the war in the Gaza Strip. Trump is known to be a close ally of Netanyahu.

Trump recently suggested that Egypt and Jordan should take in the Palestinians from Gaza. This could be temporary or long-term. Trump argues that the Gaza Strip is literally a wasteland for demolition. However, foreign ministers of several influential Arab states rejected such a resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza.

Arab countries reject Trump proposal on Gaza

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and top representatives of the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League stated that a resettlement would jeopardize the stability of the region and prolong the conflict. The rights of the Palestinians must not be violated, "whether through settlement activities, expulsion or the destruction of homes or annexation", it continued.

In recent days, Trump had repeatedly expressed optimism that Egypt and Jordan would follow his proposal. On Saturday, he spoke on the phone with Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, according to the White House. The issue of the resettlement of Palestinians was not mentioned in the communication. Instead, it was said that al-Sisi had expressed confidence that Trump's leadership could usher in a "golden age of peace in the Middle East".

Four more dead in the West Bank

Meanwhile, the violence in the West Bank continues to escalate. According to the Ministry of Health in Ramallah, four people were killed in two further Israeli airstrikes. A 16-year-old boy had previously been killed in a drone attack in Jenin. Israel's army announced that a "car with terrorists" had been attacked in Kabatia and a group of gunmen in Jenin. The city of Jenin is considered a stronghold of militant Palestinians.

Israel launched its largest military operation there in a long time on January 21. It comes at a time when the already tense situation in the West Bank has worsened dramatically due to a strengthening of Palestinian militants and increasing violence by radical Israeli settlers.