Sa’ar: Israel to Start Phase 2 Talks with Hamas

By: Akiva Van Koningsveld

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told reporters on Tuesday that Jerusalem decided to start talks on Phase 2 of the ongoing hostage release and ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

“We had a Security Cabinet meeting last night. We decided to open negotiations on the second phase,” Jerusalem’s top diplomat said during a briefing for journalists at the Foreign Ministry.

As part of the talks set to begin later this week, the Israeli government will demand the complete disarmament of Iranian-backed Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organizations in Gaza, the minister stressed.

A “Hezbollah model” in which Hamas retains its “military” capabilities is unacceptable for Israel, “and therefore we need a total demilitarization of Gaza and no presence of the Palestinian Authority,” stated Sa’ar.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari told reporters in Doha earlier on Tuesday that “there is a positive atmosphere regarding the second phase of the agreement.” He added, “The arrival of the delegations depends on the decisions of the parties involved.”

Jerusalem’s negotiating teams in Egypt and Qatar have so far focused only on the implementation of the current Phase 1 of the Gaza truce.

An Israeli political source cited by Ynet on Tuesday said that Jerusalem was making “great efforts to release all six remaining living hostages in the first phase, as well as four hostages who are no longer alive.”

Hebrew media reported on Monday that Israel this week is seeking the freedom of six instead of three living hostages during the upcoming seventh release. Under the terms of the deal, Hamas is also expected to release on Thursday the bodies of four captives murdered in Gaza.

In exchange for releasing the three additional living hostages, the Israeli government has reportedly signaled its willingness to allow the entry of hundreds of additional caravans for the reconstruction of the Strip.

The Israeli official told Ynet on Tuesday, “In the outline for the release of the hostages, Israel has committed to bringing caravans and mechanical engineering equipment into the Gaza Strip following strict inspection. As part of the negotiations, and subject to Hamas’s compliance with the deal, Israel will begin to allow this in a controlled and gradual manner.”

The first 42-day phase of the deal with Hamas is set to end on March 1.

On Monday, the Security Cabinet met to formulate “instructions for the continuation of the negotiations regarding the second stage,” according to an official statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is working in “full cooperation and coordination” with the U.S. administration on the next phase of the ceasefire, he emphasized during a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem on Sunday.

“We have a shared strategy, which cannot always be detailed to the public—including when the gates of hell will open. And they will open if all our hostages are not returned, every last one of them,” he stressed.

As part of Phase 2, Jerusalem will reportedly demand the release of all hostages in addition to the expulsion of the Hamas leadership from Gaza and the dismantling of its terrorist army. Officials in Jerusalem believe that the terror organization is likely to reject the demands.

          (JNS.org)