Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to push back hard against any attempt by the Trump administration to move on to phase two of the cease-fire plan for the Gaza Strip when the two leaders sit down at Mar-a-Lago later Monday.
Reports from multiple Israeli media outlets indicate that Netanyahu is expected to ask President Trump and his point men in the Middle East — special envoy Steve Witkoff and first son-in-law Jared Kushner — to provide firm assurances that Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza demilitarized before any further steps are taken.
Another sticking point is the failure by Hamas to return the body of Israeli counter-terror police Master Sgt. Ran “Rani’’ Gvili, who was murdered during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack against the Jewish state and is believed to be the last victim of that atrocity whose remains are still in the Gaza Strip.
Gvili’s mother and brother have joined Netanyahu’s retinue in Florida, according to Ynet, which reported that Israeli officials are hopeful that Trump will meet the pair at some point.
The second phase of the cease-fire calls for the creation of a so-called International Stabilization Force (ISF) that would take over policing the Strip, and Netanyahu is expected to question Trump closely on details of how it will operate.
Earlier this month, officials from the US, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey met in Miami to discuss plans for the force — though Israel has said that it would not accept Turkey taking part due to its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, cultivating close ties to Hamas throughout his tenure.
The US and Israel want the ISF to have a “commanding role” in security duties, including disarming Hamas and other militant groups. But countries being courted to contribute troops fear that mandate will make it an “occupation force,” a Western diplomat told the Associated Press.
Hamas has said it is ready to discuss “freezing or storing” its arsenal of weapons, but insists it has a right to armed resistance as long as Israel occupies Palestinian territory. One US official told AP said a potential plan might be to offer cash incentives in exchange for weapons, echoing a “buy-back” program Witkoff has previously floated.
Governance of Gaza will initially be overseen by a so-called Board of Peace chaired by Trump, with the Palestinians later forming a “technocratic, apolitical” committee to run daily affairs under Board of Peace supervision.
The Board of Peace would oversee Gaza’s reconstruction under a two-year, renewable United Nations mandate. Its members had been expected to be named by the end of the year and might even be revealed following Monday’s meeting, but the announcement could be pushed into next month.
Trump and Netanyahu may also discuss next steps regarding Iran following a report over the weekend by independent outlet Iran International that the Islamic Republic is developing biological and chemical warheads that could be attached to ballistic missiles targeting Israel.
With Post wires
