Countdown to the launch of the second phase of the Gaza-West Bank agreement transforms into military barracks and settlement outposts
As the Israeli occupation continues its escalation campaign in the occupied West Bank with its army and settlers, turning inhabited homes into military barracks and establishing a new settlement outpost, Palestinian sources reported that an announcement regarding a deal on the second phase of the ceasefire in Gaza could be issued within the coming hours or by today, following progress in negotiations underway in Cairo.
While residents of the Gaza Strip endured a harsh night during which Israel replayed scenes of war, including killing, destruction, and displacement, Israeli leaks confirmed that negotiations in Cairo are advancing toward a framework for the second phase of the Gaza agreement. This framework includes the administration of the Strip, a mechanism for dealing with weapons, and the withdrawal of the Israeli army, amid conflicting accounts: some describe a comprehensive and immediate disarmament, while others speak of gradual storage and linking implementation to reciprocal steps.
According to reports from the public broadcasting authority (Kan 11) and Channel 12, the understandings being discussed were formulated between Hamas and mediators, while Tel Aviv continues to monitor the talks from the outside and awaits the presentation of the final formula.
The circulating formula, according to the Israeli narrative, covers all weapons present in the Strip, including light and heavy weapons, as well as those held by police forces, along with tunnels, weapons depots, and military manufacturing facilities. At the end of the process, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza would become the sole entity authorized to possess, store, and control weapons.
Leaks indicate that the handover or storage of weapons could begin within weeks, to be placed in agreed-upon warehouses and taken out of use under the guard or supervision of multinational international forces. The formula also includes Hamas ceasing all its military activities.
Meanwhile, the German news agency DPA reported that Palestinian factions have reached consensus on the final version of a 15-point “roadmap,” adding that mediators are continuing their communications with the occupation authorities to put the finishing touches on the document.
According to sources, the document underwent several amendments over the past weeks following intensive consultations between Palestinian factions and mediators, aimed at addressing two main points of disagreement: the status of Gaza employees and the issue of weapons, before reaching a consensus formula endorsed by all factions.
In the West Bank, the Israeli escalation campaign continues in various areas, marked by serious violations such as raiding inhabited homes and using them for military purposes, seizing and vandalizing land, and beginning construction of a settlement outpost in Fuqoa. Residents were also prevented from extinguishing a fire in Qalqilya, while settlers continued their terrorist activities by raiding homes and threatening residents.
