By World Israel News Staff

The Trump administration is planning to move forward with the implementation of phase two of its 20-point Gaza peace plan despite failing to secure a commitment from Hamas to disarm or the return of the body of the last hostage in Gaza, a US official and two Arab diplomats say.

According to an article published by The Times of Israel Thursday morning, the three sources said that the US is poised to move forward with parts of the second phase of the Gaza peace deal, laying the groundwork for the reconstruction of Gaza and post-war governance of the coastal enclave.

The report also claimed that the administration, which has vowed to not rebuild parts of Gaza still under Hamas rule, is considering piecemeal alternatives to a one-stage disarmament of the Islamic terror group.

American officials working with mediators from Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar are reportedly mulling a gradual, staggered disarmament process.

Mediators from those countries have promised the US, the sources claim, that Hamas will accept a two-stage disarmament plan, under which the group would first surrender its heavy weapons, and later gradually turn over its light weapons under a “buy-back” program.

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Publicly, Hamas officials have rejected any disarmament plan which would not include the formation of a Palestinian state, a rapprochement between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, and integration of Hamas into a new Palestinian military.

According to a report by Axios, the Trump administration is planning on launching the Board of Peace, which will be tasked with overseeing the Gaza Strip, next week.

Israel’s Channel 14 reported Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is slated to meet later today with a former United Nations envoy to the Middle East, Nikolay Mladenov, who is expected to represent the Board of Peace in Gaza.