The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Israel’s government informed Washington that it is not committed to the three-stage ceasefire plan in the Gaza Strip.
US Senator Randy Fine also announced his intention to submit a bill recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which was met with outrage by Palestine.
The official spokesperson for the Palestinian presidency, Nabil Abu-Rudeineh, warned against Israel’s forces escalating their destructive aggression on the northern West Bank, by forcibly displacing 40,000 Palestinian citizens.
Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen reiterated Israel’s conditions for starting the second phase of Gaza agreement, which include the release of all Israeli hostages, the removal of Hamas from Gaza, the disarmament of the Strip, and Israel’s control over security in the region.
The first phase of the truce agreement, which ends on March 1, stipulates that Hamas will release 33 hostages, including eight dead, in exchange for Israel releasing 1,900 Palestinian prisoners held in its prisons.
Earlier, Hamas announced that it was ready to release – in one go – all the hostages still being held in Gaza during the second phase of the agreement, scheduled to begin on March 2.
US Senator Randy Fine said, in statements published via the “X” platform, that he intends to make this project his first priority when he enters Congress, to officially recognize that the West Bank and Gaza Strip are part of the State of Israel.
The official spokesperson for the Palestinian presidency warned against the bombing of homes and neighborhoods, and the systematic destruction of infrastructure, especially in the cities of Jenin and its camp, Tulkarm and the Tubas, and Al-Far’a camps, which comes in conjunction with the threat of a return to war in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Varsen Aghabekian, said that the administration of the Gaza Strip will be under Palestinian leadership, specifically the Palestinian National Authority, expressing the Palestinian side’s aspirations to receive the vision that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will present at the upcoming emergency Arab summit in Cairo.
Speaking to CNN Arabic, she discussed the role of the Hamas movement after reaching sustainable calm, and said: “We will manage the Gaza Strip and everyone in it in one way or another. The administration will be Palestinian, headed by the Palestinian National Authority, and whatever is agreed upon at any meeting at the Cairo summit is what will be approved.”
Hamas Political Bureau member Bassem Naim called on the mediators to urge the “enemy” to implement the terms of the agreement as stated in the text.
He said that any talks with Israel mediated by other parties regarding future steps in the ceasefire agreement depend entirely on implementing the terms of the release of the agreed upon 602 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the four bodies and the six Israeli , hostages who were released on Saturday.
The Deputy Speaker of the Israeli Knesset, Nissim Vaturi, also stirred controversy when he called for killing all adults in the Gaza Strip.
An expert in Israeli affairs and conflict issues, Nizar Nazzal, warned that this encouragement of violence against Palestinians in Gaza could lead to a dangerous escalation in the region.
Nazzal said that “these sadistic figures are the ones who make decisions in Israel, and we must realize that we are facing an extremely dangerous period.”
He warned that these statements pose a clear threat for the coming days, warning that the Palestinian people are suffering from ethnic cleansing taking place right before the eyes of the world.
