Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Tuesday demanded the return of all remaining hostages and “full demilitarization” of Gaza before Israel would come to the table to progress to phase 2 of its fragile cease-fire with Hamas that has held since it came into force January 19. File Photo by Jack Guez/UPI |
License PhotoMarch 4 (UPI) — A fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was holding Tuesday even as the two sides remained deadlocked over Israel’s blockade on humanitarian aid going into Gaza after Hamas rejected a U.S. proposed extension of the initial six-week phase of the deal.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel’s price for progressing to phase 2 of the cease-fire — which calls for a permanent halt in the fighting and the Israeli military to pull out of Gaza — was the return of all remaining hostages and “full demilitarization” of the Palestinian enclave.
He dismissed criticism of the aid blockade from international humanitarian organizations, the United Nations and Egypt, which said it “unequivocally rejects the politicization of humanitarian aid and its exploitation as a tool of blackmail.”
Saar said aid had become Hamas’ main source of income.
“With that money they use for terror, to restore their abilities and to get more young terrorists into their organization,” he said.
The U.S. State Department said Monday that Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was headed to the region “in the coming days to work out either a way to extend Phase I or advance to Phase II” of the cease-fire and hostage deal which has seen Hamas release 38 hostages from Gaza and Israel free 1,737 Palestinian prisoners in exchange.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday that Israel would not allow further aid shipments into Gaza after Hamas rejected the so-called “Witkoff Outline” — aimed at extending phase one of the cease-fire — two days after abortive preliminary negotiations on the second phase in Cairo on Friday.
Meanwhile, Syria’s SANA News Agency reported that interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa joined other Arab leaders in Cairo on Tuesday for an emergency meeting hosted by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to discuss the Gaza situation.
Leaders — minus de facto Saudi Arabian ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — were expected to come up with a united Arab counterproposal to U.S.-Israeli plans to displace the population of Gaza.
As part of that, they were also expected to discuss reconstruction, specifically a $53 billion Egyptian proposal paid for by wealthy Arab states to rebuild with new housing, a commercial harbor and an airport over five years — as opposed to the 10 years in U.S. President Donald Trump‘s plan — and with the Palestinians remaining in situ.
However, the plan states that reconstruction “would require arrangements for transitional governance and security that preserve the prospects of a two-state solution”.
“The two-state solution is the optimal solution from the perspective of international law and the international community,” it says.
Earlier, Hamas issued a statement urging the summit to act to stop any effort to displace Palestinians from Gaza but pledged to remove itself from the running of Gaza, post-war, provided the people of Gaza were in agreement with whatever administrative arrangements emerged.
“It is not necessary for Hamas to be part of the administrative arrangements in Gaza. It is not interested in that, and does not want to be in these arrangements at all,” said Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem.
However, he said Hamas would need to be involved in determining that the required consensus among Palestinians had been met.
