Gaza mediators warn of escalation as Netanyahu rejects international force
Mediating countries pointed out that the intensive efforts to implement the comprehensive plan to end the war in Gaza, including the meeting between the Peace Council and Israeli officials and the ongoing steps in the negotiation track, are passing through a critical stage, highlighting the danger of the destructive consequences of the ongoing Israeli aggression in the region.
This came hours after Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani confirmed during a conference in the Egyptian city of Alamein the necessity for Washington to exert pressure on Israel to ensure the implementation of the agreement.
In response, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Tel Aviv has not agreed to the entry of an international force to stabilize the Gaza Strip. The office of the occupation prime minister denied the validity of Israeli reports claiming that the Security Cabinet had decided to allow part of the force to begin operations in a limited area of the coastal sector, stating: “Israel has clarified that there will be no reconstruction in the Strip before Hamas is completely disarmed.”
Despite the occupation authorities’ adherence to their aggressive approach, the Israeli government proceeded with implementing a settlement plan in the West Bank, which has drawn Arab and international condemnation. This plan is expected to split the region and “bury the possibility of a two-state solution” with the Palestinians, in addition to isolating Jerusalem.
The Israeli Ministry of Housing issued a notice to tender for the construction of more than 1,200 units in the “E1” area near Jerusalem, a step aimed at establishing a contiguous Jewish settlement bloc extending from East Jerusalem deep into the West Bank, with the goal of making a geographically contiguous Palestinian state impossible. This coincided with Israeli families beginning to move into the Kaddim area in northern West Bank, the last of four settlements that Tel Aviv reopened after more than 20 years since its withdrawal from them.
