Could we see a Palestinian state during Mahmoud Abbas’s 20th year in office thanks to the global coalition?

Special Could we see a Palestinian state during Mahmoud Abbas’s 20th year in office thanks to the global coalition?
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters on September 26, 2024 in New York City. (AFP)
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Updated 13 January 2025
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Could we see a Palestinian state during Mahmoud Abbas’s 20th year in office thanks to the global coalition?

Could we see a Palestinian state during Mahmoud Abbas’s 20th year in office thanks to the global coalition?
  • When Abbas assumed the Palestinian Authority presidency on Jan. 15, 2005, he inherited a fractured political landscape
  • His legacy will be defined by whether he can translate Saudi-led momentum behind Palestinian statehood into tangible results

LONDON: As Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas marks 20 years in office, his leadership remains a complex chapter in the Palestinian national story, characterized by division, disillusionment, but also dogged determination.

Having succeeded Yasser Arafat in 2005, Abbas’ lengthy tenure has been shaped by challenges that have profoundly impacted the Palestinian people, the pursuit of statehood, and the prospects for peace with Israel.

“Ever since taking office, President Abbas has focused all his attention on the realization of an independent Palestinian state using diplomatic and political means,” Daoud Kuttab, an award-winning Palestinian journalist and author, told Arab News.




Posters of presidential candidate Mahmoud Abbas and the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat are seen at the Al-Amaari refugee camp in the West Bank city of Ramallah on January 2005 during the election for Arafat's successor. (AFP)

Abbas’s term was originally meant to last four years, meaning elections should have been held in 2009. However, no presidential elections have taken place since, primarily due to political rivalries between the main parties.

This 20-year milestone invites a reflection on Abbas’ legacy, the ongoing divisions within Palestinian politics, and whether his 20th year in power since succeeding Arafat might see tangible progress toward an independent Palestinian state.

When Abbas assumed the presidency on Jan. 15, 2005, he inherited a fractured political landscape. Arafat’s death in November 2004 left a void in Palestinian leadership, particularly given his unique ability to unite diverse factions under the umbrella of the Palestine Liberation Organization.




Palestinians crowd around the coffin of Fatah Chairman Yasser Arafat after it arrived from Cairo in the West Bank city of Ramallaha on November 12, 2004, for a burial ceremony. (AFP)

Abbas, known for his more pragmatic and diplomatic approach, was seen as a leader who could gain international credibility and potentially re-ignite peace talks with Israel. However, Arafat’s departure also brought long-simmering divisions among Palestinians to the fore.

“Abbas followed a revolutionary leader in Yasser Arafat and had to confront an Islamic movement that is focused on armed resistance,” said Kuttab, referring to the Palestinian militant group Hamas that controls Gaza.

“He attacked Hamas for their rocket attacks on Israel and has been silently disapproving of the Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border Hamas act that has caused huge loss of life as a result of the brutal Israeli revenge response.”




This April 7, 2024, photo shows near Israelis visiting a memorial at Kibbutz Reim in southern Israel, at the site of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on the Supernova music festival, which triggered Israel's genocidal Gaza invasion. (AFP)

The Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel left 1,200 people dead, the majority of them civilians, saw some 250 taken hostage, including many foreign nationals, and triggered Israel’s devastating retaliatory war in Gaza.

Fifteen months on, the war has cost the lives of more than 45,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in Gaza, although a new study published by the Lancet medical journal has placed the death toll at 64,260 as of last June.

The rivalry between Abbas’ Fatah and Hamas escalated into a full-blown schism in 2007. Following a short conflict, Hamas seized control of Gaza, leaving Abbas’ Fatah-dominated PA governing only parts of the West Bank.

This division has not only weakened the Palestinian cause but has also complicated efforts to present a unified front in negotiations with Israel.




A Palestinian mourns his daughter and two other relatives who were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Jan. 11, 2025, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip. Fifteen months on, the Gaza war has cost the lives of more than 46,500 Palestinians and at least 109,660 wounded. (AFP)

Abbas began his presidency with optimism. His platform emphasized nonviolent resistance, institution-building, and a commitment to achieving a two-state solution through negotiations.

His efforts gained initial support from the international community, particularly the US and the EU. The 2005 Israeli withdrawal from Gaza was seen as a potential breakthrough, despite being unilateral and limited.

However, hopes for progress soon faded. The victory of Hamas in the 2006 legislative elections, coupled with the failure to reach a consensus on governance, exacerbated divisions.

Meanwhile, peace talks with Israel stalled repeatedly over issues such as settlement expansion, security arrangements, and the status of Jerusalem.




Palestinians rally in the West Bank city of Ramallah on June 13, 2007, calling for a stop to fighting between the Fatah and the Hamas movements in the Gaza Strip. Fatah and Hamas remain rivals to this day. (AFP)

The situation worsened after the 2008-09 Gaza war, further entrenching the divide between Hamas and Fatah. For many Palestinians, Abbas’ commitment to negotiations began to appear futile, especially as Israel’s settlement activity in the West Bank continued unabated.

Critics accused Abbas of presiding over a corrupt and ineffective administration, eroding public trust in the PA.

The split between the West Bank and Gaza remains one of the defining challenges of Abbas’ presidency. Efforts at reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas have repeatedly faltered, with each side blaming the other for the impasse.




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The Oct. 7 attack and the war in Gaza have done little to heal the rift. On Saturday, Fatah issued a rare statement criticizing Hamas for sacrificing Palestinian interests for Iran and causing destruction in Gaza.

The statement supports Fatah’s recent security crackdown in the Jenin refugee camp targeting Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other armed groups, accusing Tehran of funding these factions.

Fatah also condemned the Oct. 7 attack, rejecting Hamas’ strategy of armed conflict, and accused it of seeking to incite chaos in the West Bank




Protesters clash with members of the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces, in Jenin in the Israel-occupied West Bank, on December 16, 2024. (AFP)

Talks in December between Fatah and Hamas about a nonpartisan Gaza administration have seen no clear progress. Meanwhile, the future governance of Gaza remains uncertain as Israeli leaders debate involving the PA following the defeat of Hamas.

Despite his long absence from the Palestinian Territories in the UAE, Mohammed Dahlan, a former Gaza security chief who was blamed by some within Fatah for the loss of Gaza, has since been tipped as a potential leader of the enclave — if Hamas were removed from power.

The Fatah Central Committee voted to expel Dahlan from the party in June 2011 after Abbas accused him of corruption and of plotting against him. Dahlan denied the allegations and accused Abbas of targeting him for his criticism of Abbas’ handling of the peace process.




In this photo taken on December 31, 2016, supporters of Fatah's former security chief Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled rival to Mahmoud Abbas, clash with supporters of Abbas during a rally in Gaza City. (AFP file)

In spite of this history of division among the Palestinians, Abbas’ administration has achieved some notable successes on the international stage, including securing Palestine’s recognition as a non-member observer state at the UN in 2012.

This diplomatic victory underscored Abbas’ commitment to pursuing Palestinian statehood through nonviolent means and international legitimacy.

However, Abbas’ prolonged tenure has not been without controversy. Now aged 89, he has faced growing criticism for failing to hold elections since 2006, effectively extending his rule far beyond his original mandate.




Palestinian Fatah movement supporters carry portraits of PA President Mahmud Abbas (R) and his late predecessor Yasser Arafat (L) during a march to mark the 16th anniversary of Arafat's death in the village of Dura, near the West Bank city of Hebron on November 11, 2020. (AFP file)

Many Palestinians view the PA as increasingly authoritarian, accusing it of suppressing dissent and prioritizing security coordination with Israel over the needs of its people. The PA’s reliance on international aid has also raised questions about its sustainability.

Economic dependency on donor funding has left the PA vulnerable to political pressure, particularly from the US and Israel. This dependency has fueled perceptions that the PA is complicit in managing the occupation rather than resisting it.

Meanwhile, Abbas has faced internal challenges from younger Fatah leaders and other political factions who view his leadership as out of touch. Calls for generational change have grown louder, with many Palestinians demanding a more inclusive and dynamic approach.

Despite these challenges, Abbas’ 20th year in office arrives at a moment of renewed international focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.




Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) meeting with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in Riyadh on August 27, 2024. (PPO/AFP) 

Saudi Arabia’s emergence as a regional power broker has brought fresh hope for advancing the two-state solution. Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Kingdom has taken a proactive role in mediating conflicts and fostering dialogue, including between Israel and the Arab world.

In October 2024, Saudi Arabia announced the formation of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution. The coalition includes key players such as the US, the EU, and Arab states, with a mandate to address core issues including borders, settlements, refugees, and the status of Jerusalem.

Riyadh’s initiative has been bolstered by an ongoing Arab dialogue with Israel, which includes conditions tied to advancing Palestinian statehood in line with the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.




Since the global alliance for the two-state solution was launched amid the Gaza war, the push for Palestinian statehood championed by Mahmoud Abbas has gained momentum. (Anadolu)

“No doubt Saudi Arabia is playing a leading role in this coalition, leveraging its regional and international influence as well as its longstanding support for the Palestinian cause,” Hani Nasira, an Egyptian writer and political expert, told Arab News.

“The Kingdom has consistently emphasized that the establishment of an independent Palestinian state is essential for peace and stability in the region and that any steps toward normalization with Israel must first secure Palestinian rights.”

This diplomatic strategy reflects Saudi Arabia’s commitment to balancing regional stability with the aspirations of the Palestinian people.

The question remains whether Abbas’ final years in power will witness the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. Much depends on the success of Saudi Arabia’s initiative and the willingness of all parties to engage in meaningful negotiations.

“Observers believe that the chances of establishing a Palestinian state under President Mahmoud Abbas remain viable, though significant challenges persist,” said Nasira.




Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (C) and leaders from member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League during their joint extraordinary summit in Riyadh on November 11, 2024 to discuss efforts at finding a peaceful solution to the question of Palestine. (SPA/AFP)

“These obstacles require internal Palestinian unity and robust Arab and international support — something Saudi Arabia is actively seeking to provide.

“Additionally, many countries and international organizations continue to support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 borders under the current Palestinian leadership.

“This includes the EU and most Islamic nations, as President Abbas seeks backing for a peace initiative rooted in the two-state solution and international resolutions.

“It is therefore clear that the Global Alliance reflects Saudi Arabia’s steadfast commitment to supporting the Palestinian cause and its relentless pursuit of a just and comprehensive peace in the region.

“This initiative aims to guarantee Palestinian rights and establish normalized relations among all countries in the region.”

For Abbas, the stakes are high. His legacy will ultimately be defined by whether he can translate decades of advocacy for Palestinian statehood into tangible results.




A screen shows the results of the vote on the resolution entitled "Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine" at the General Assembly 46th plenary meeting on Dec. 3, 2024, at the UN headquarters in New York City. (AFP)

The PA has expressed cautious optimism about the Saudi-led coalition, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive approach that addresses historic injustices and ensures Palestinian sovereignty.

However, significant obstacles persist. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shown little appetite for concessions, particularly on settlements and security issues, and has even dismissed the two-state solution out of hand.

As Abbas marks two decades in office, the Palestinians find themselves at a crossroads. While statehood remains elusive, renewed international focus on the conflict offers a glimmer of hope.

Abbas’ presidency has been a tale of resilience, missed opportunities, and unfulfilled aspirations. While his commitment to a two-state solution has earned him international respect, the lack of progress on the ground has left many Palestinians disillusioned.

“The Palestinian president remained focused on his peaceful mythology but failed to gain enough support in terms of electoral legitimization of his efforts,” Kuttab told Arab News.

“While Abbas’ direction directly reflected the recommendations of all of Palestine’s allies, they failed to engage or reward him for his rejection of violence and insistence of a politically negotiated solution to the Palestinian conflict.

“Nevertheless, President Abbas’ quest — that is, the national aspiration of Palestinians — remains to be the most logical step forward. Palestinian statehood is the best way to bring peace to the entire Middle East.”
 

 


UN accuses Sudan paramilitaries of blocking Darfur aid

UN accuses Sudan paramilitaries of blocking Darfur aid
Updated 5 sec ago
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UN accuses Sudan paramilitaries of blocking Darfur aid

UN accuses Sudan paramilitaries of blocking Darfur aid
  • The Rapid Support Forces controls nearly all of Darfur, a western region the size of France
  • Nearly seven million people in Darfur are facing crisis levels of hunger, UN-backed agency says

Port Sudan — SDN
PORT SUDAN, Sudan: The United Nations on Monday accused Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces of blocking aid to the war-torn country’s famine-threatened Darfur region.
The RSF, which has been at war with the regular army since April 2023, controls nearly all of Darfur, a western region the size of France.
Since May, it has besieged North Darfur’s El-Fasher and attacked displacement camps nearby.
“The persistent restrictions and bureaucratic hurdles” imposed by the RSF’s humanitarian agency “are preventing life-saving assistance from reaching those in desperate need,” said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan.
“The world is watching, and it is unacceptable that the humanitarian community in Sudan... is unable to deliver essential aid,” she said in a statement.
Famine has been declared in five areas of North Darfur and is expected to spread to five more by May, according to the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.
Nearly seven million people in Darfur are facing crisis levels of hunger, IPC figures show.
The UN on Monday urged simplified bureaucratic procedures and an end to undue interference, “including demands for logistical support or mandatory engagement with selected vendors.”
Since the war began, humanitarian workers have reported obstruction by both sides, looting of aid and threats against relief staff.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, uprooted 12 million and created the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises.
Nearly 25 million people are facing dire food insecurity across Sudan, according to the United Nations.


After the ceasefire in Gaza, West Bank Palestinians face more Israeli barriers, traffic and misery

After the ceasefire in Gaza, West Bank Palestinians face more Israeli barriers, traffic and misery
Updated 10 February 2025
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After the ceasefire in Gaza, West Bank Palestinians face more Israeli barriers, traffic and misery

After the ceasefire in Gaza, West Bank Palestinians face more Israeli barriers, traffic and misery
  • Israel intensified its crackdown on the occupied West Bank, ramping up raids against militants in the north of the territory and subjecting Palestinians in the area to the strictest scrutiny

RAMALLAH: Abdullah Fauzi, a banker from the northern West Bank city of Nablus, leaves home at 4 a.m. to reach his job by 8, and he’s often late.
His commute used to take an hour — until Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, after which Israel launched its offensive in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military also ramped up raids against Palestinian militants in the northern West Bank, and diverted its residents through seven new checkpoints, doubling Fauzi’s time on the road.
Now it’s gotten worse.
Since the ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas took effect, Fauzi’s drive to the West Bank’s business and administrative hub, Ramallah, has become a convoluted, at least four-hour wiggle through steep lanes and farm roads as Israel further tightens the noose around Palestinian cities in measures it considers essential to guard against militant attacks.
“You can fly to Paris while we’re not reaching our homes,” the 42-year-old said from the Atara checkpoint outside Ramallah last week, as Israeli soldiers searched scores of cars, one by one.
“Whatever this is, they’ve planned it well,” he said. “It’s well-designed to make our life hell.”
A ceasefire begets violence
As the truce between Israel and Hamas took hold on Jan. 19, radical Israeli settlers — incensed over an apparent end to the war and the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli hostages — rampaged through West Bank towns, torching cars and homes.
Two days later, Israeli forces with drones and attack helicopters descended on the northern West Bank city of Jenin, long a center of militant activity.
More checkpoints started going up between Palestinian cities, slicing up the occupied West Bank and creating choke points the Israeli army can shut off on a whim. Crossings that had been open 24/7 started closing during morning and evening rush hours, upturning the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
New barriers — earthen mounds, iron gates — multiplied, pushing Palestinian cars off well-paved roads and onto rutted paths through open fields. What was once a soldier’s glance and head tilt became international border-like inspections.
Israel says the measures are to prevent Hamas from opening a new front in the West Bank. But many experts suspect the crackdown has more to do with assuaging settler leaders like Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister and an important ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has threatened to topple the government if Israel does not restart the war in Gaza.
“Israel now has a free hand to pursue what it has wanted to in the West Bank for a long time: settlement expansion, annexation,” said Tahani Mustafa, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group. “It was considered a potential trade-off.”
Asked why Israel launched the crackdown during the ceasefire, the Israeli military said politicians gave the order in part over concerns that the release of Palestinian prisoners — in swaps for Israeli hostages held by Hamas — could raise tensions in the West Bank.
The checkpoints all over the West Bank, it said, were “to ensure safe movement and expand inspections.”
“Checkpoints are a tool we use in the fight against terror, enabling civilian movement while providing a layer of screening to prevent terrorists from escaping,” said Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman.
Life disrupted
To spend rush hour at an Israeli checkpoint is to hear of the problems it has brought — Palestinian families divided, money lost, trade disrupted, sick people kept from doctors.
Ahmed Jibril said not even his position as manager of emergency services for the Palestinian Red Crescent protects him.
“We’re treated like any other private car,” he said, describing dozens of cases in which Israeli soldiers forced ambulances to wait for inspection when they were responding to emergency calls.
In one case, on Jan. 21, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported that a 46-year-old woman who had suffered a heart attack in the southern city of Hebron died while waiting to cross a checkpoint.
The Israeli military said it was not aware of that specific incident. But citing Hamas’ use of civilian infrastructure like hospitals to conceal fighters, the army acknowledged subjecting medical teams to security checks “while trying to reduce the delay as much as possible in order to mitigate harm.”
The UN humanitarian agency, or OCHA, reported that, as of last Nov. 28, Israel had 793 checkpoints and roadblocks in the West Bank, 228 more than before the war in Gaza.
The agency hasn’t updated the tally since the ceasefire, but its latest report noted a surge in “suffocating restrictions” that are “tearing communities apart and largely paralyzing daily life.”
A bubble bursts
With its upscale restaurants and yoga studios, Ramallah gained a reputation in past conflicts for being something of a well-to-do bubble where cafe-hopping residents can feel immune to the harsh realities of the occupation.
Now its residents, struck in numbingly long lines to run simple errands, feel under siege.
“All we want to do is go home,” said Mary Elia, 70, stalled with her husband for nearly two hours at the Ein Senia checkpoint north of Ramallah last week, as they made their way home to east Jerusalem from their daughter’s house. “Are we meant to never see our grandchildren?”
Suddenly, her face contorted in discomfort. She had to urinate, she said, and there were hours to go before they crossed.
A national obsession
Roll down the window at a bottlenecked checkpoint and the same soothing female voice can be heard emanating from countless car radios, reeling off every Israeli checkpoint, followed by “salik” — Arabic for open — or “mughlaq,” closed, based on the conditions of the moment.
These reports recently beat out weather broadcasts for top slot on the West Bank radio lineup.
Almost every Palestinian driver seems able to expound on the latest checkpoint operating hours, the minutiae of soldiers’ mood changes and fiercely defended opinions about the most efficient detours.
“I didn’t ask for a Ph.D. in this,” said Yasin Fityani, 30, an engineer stuck in line to leave Ramallah for work, scrolling through new checkpoint-dedicated WhatsApp groups filled with footage of soldiers installing cement barriers and fistfights erupting over someone cutting the line.
Lost time, lost money
It was the second time in as many weeks that his boss at the Jerusalem bus company called off his morning shift because he was late.
Worse still for Nidal Al-Maghribi, 34, it was too dangerous to back out of the queue of frustrated motorists waiting to pass Jaba checkpoint, which severs his east Jerusalem neighborhood from the rest of the city. Another full day’s work wasted in his car.
“What am I supposed to tell my wife?” he asked, pausing to keep his composure. “This job is how I feed my kids.”
Palestinian trucks, packed with perishable food and construction materials, are not spared the scrutiny. Soldiers often ask truckers to pull over and unload their cargo for inspection. Fruit rots. Textiles and electronics get damaged.
The delays raise prices, further choking a Palestinian economy that shrank 28 percent last year as a result of punitive Israeli policies imposed after Hamas’ attack, said Palestinian Economy Minister Mohammad Alamour. Israel’s ban on most Palestinian workers has left 30 percent of the West Bank’s workforce jobless.
“These barriers do everything except their stated purpose of providing security,” Alamour said.
“They pressure the Palestinian people and the Palestinian economy. They make people want to leave their country.”


Egypt to host emergency Arab summit on Feb. 27 to discuss ‘serious’ Palestinian developments

Egypt to host emergency Arab summit on Feb. 27 to discuss ‘serious’ Palestinian developments
Updated 10 February 2025
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Egypt to host emergency Arab summit on Feb. 27 to discuss ‘serious’ Palestinian developments

Egypt to host emergency Arab summit on Feb. 27 to discuss ‘serious’ Palestinian developments
  • Egypt has been rallying regional support against Trump’s plan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza Strip to Egypt and Jordan
  • Trump's remarks have prompted global backlash as Arab countries firmly reject proposal, insist on two-state solution 

CAIRO: Egypt will host a summit of Arab nations on February 27 to discuss “the latest serious developments” concerning the Palestinian territories, its foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The “emergency Arab summit” comes as Egypt has been rallying regional support against US President Donald Trump’s plan to relocate Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Egypt and Jordan while establishing US control over the coastal territory.

Sunday’s statement said the gathering was called “after extensive consultations by Egypt at the highest levels with Arab countries in recent days, including Palestine, which requested the summit, to address the latest serious developments regarding the Palestinian cause.”

That included coordination with Bahrain, which currently chairs the Arab League, the statement said.

On Friday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty spoke with regional partners including Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to shore up opposition to any forced displacement of Palestinians from their land.

Last week, Trump floated the idea of US administration over Gaza, envisioning rebuilding the devastated territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East” after resettling Palestinians elsewhere, namely Egypt and Jordan.

The remarks have prompted global backlash, and Arab countries have firmly rejected the proposal, insisting on a two-state solution with an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.


Trump repeats pledge to take control of Gaza even as pressure mounts to renew ceasefire

Trump repeats pledge to take control of Gaza even as pressure mounts to renew ceasefire
Updated 10 February 2025
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Trump repeats pledge to take control of Gaza even as pressure mounts to renew ceasefire

Trump repeats pledge to take control of Gaza even as pressure mounts to renew ceasefire
  • “I’m committed to buying and owning Gaza. As far as us rebuilding it, we may give it to other states in the Middle East to build sections of it,” Trump said
  • He said Arab nations would agree to take in Palestinians after speaking with him and insisted Palestinians would leave Gaza if they had a choice

MUGHRAQA, Gaza Strip: New details and growing shock over emaciated hostages renewed pressure Sunday on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to extend a fragile Gaza ceasefire beyond the first phase, even as US President Donald Trump repeated his pledge that the US would take control of the Palestinian enclave.
Talks on the second phase, meant to see more hostages released and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, were due to start Feb. 3. But Israel and Hamas appear to have made little progress, even as Israeli forces withdrew Sunday from a Gaza corridor in the latest commitment to the truce.
Netanyahu sent a delegation to Qatar, a key mediator, but it included low-level officials, sparking speculation that it won’t lead to a breakthrough. Netanyahu, who returned after a US visit to meet with Trump, is expected to convene security Cabinet ministers on Tuesday.
Trump weighs in on Gaza again
Speaking on Sunday, Trump repeated his pledge to take control of the Gaza Strip.
“I’m committed to buying and owning Gaza. As far as us rebuilding it, we may give it to other states in the Middle East to build sections of it. Other people may do it through our auspices. But we’re committed to owning it, taking it, and making sure that Hamas doesn’t move back. There’s nothing to move back into. The place is a demolition site. The remainder will be demolished,” he told reporters onboard Air Force One as he traveled to the Super Bowl.
Trump said Arab nations would agree to take in Palestinians after speaking with him and insisted Palestinians would leave Gaza if they had a choice.
“They don’t want to return to Gaza. If we could give them a home in a safer area — the only reason they’re talking about returning to Gaza is they don’t have an alternative. When they have an alternative, they don’t want to return to Gaza.”
Trump also suggested he was losing patience with the deal after seeing the emaciated hostages released this week.
“I watched the hostages come back today and they looked like Holocaust survivors. They were in horrible condition. They were emaciated. It looked like many years ago, the Holocaust survivors, and I don’t know how much longer we can take that,” he said.
Israel has expressed openness to the idea of resettling Gaza’s population — ”a revolutionary, creative vision,” Netanyahu told his Cabinet on Sunday — while Hamas, the Palestinians and much of the world have rejected it.
Egypt said it will host an emergency Arab summit on Feb. 27 to discuss the “new and dangerous developments.”
Trump’s proposal has moral, legal and practical obstacles. It may have been proposed as a negotiation tactic to pressure Hamas or an opening gambit in discussions aimed at securing a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia condemned Netanyahu’s recent comment that Palestinians could create their state there, saying it aimed to divert attention from crimes committed by “the Israeli occupation against our Palestinian brothers in Gaza, including the ethnic cleansing they are being subjected to.”
Qatar called Netanyahu’s comment “provocative” and a blatant violation of international law.
Hostage families say time is running out
Families of remaining hostages said time is running out as some survivors described being barefoot and in chains.
“We cannot let the hostages remain there. There is no other way. I am appealing to the cabinet,” said Ella Ben Ami, daughter of a hostage released Saturday, adding she now understands the toll of captivity is much worse than imagined.
The father of a remaining hostage, Kobi Ohel, told Israel’s Channel 13 the newly released men said his son, Alon, and others “live off half a pita to a full pita a day. These are not human conditions.” Ohel’s mother, Idit, sobbed as she told Channel 12 her son has been chained for over a year.
Michael Levy said his brother, the newly released Or Levy, had been barefoot and hungry for 16 months. “The decision-makers knew exactly what his condition was and what everyone else’s condition was, and they did not do enough to bring him back with the urgency that was needed,” he said.
On Saturday, as Israelis reeled, former defense minister Yoav Gallant said on social media that the deterioration in hostages’ conditions was something “Israel has known about for some time.”
The ceasefire’s extension is not guaranteed
The ceasefire that began on Jan. 19 has held, raising hopes that the 16-month war that led to seismic shifts in the Middle East may be headed toward an end.
The latest step was Israel forces’ withdrawal from the 4-mile (6-kilometer) Netzarim corridor separating northern and southern Gaza, which was used as a military zone. No troops were seen in the vicinity Sunday. As the ceasefire began last month, Israel began allowing hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to cross Netzarim and return to the north.
But the deal remains fragile. On Sunday, civil defense first responders in Gaza said Israeli fire killed three people east of Gaza City. Israel’s military noted “several hits” after firing warning shots and warned Palestinians against approaching its forces.
Cars piled with belongings headed north. Under the deal, Israel should allow cars to cross Netzarim uninspected. Troops remain along Gaza’s borders with Israel and Egypt.
Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif Al-Qanoua said the troops’ withdrawal showed the militant group had “forced the enemy to submit to our demands” and thwarted “Netanyahu’s illusion of achieving total victory.”
Israel has said it won’t agree to a complete withdrawal from Gaza until Hamas’ military and political capabilities are eliminated. Hamas says it won’t hand over the last hostages until Israel removes all troops.
During the ceasefire’s 42-day first phase, Hamas is gradually releasing 33 Israeli hostages captured during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and a flood of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Israel has said Hamas confirmed that eight of the 33 are dead.
Families of the hostages gathered in Tel Aviv to urge Netanyahu to extend the ceasefire, but he is also under pressure from far-right political allies to resume the war. Trump’s proposal for the US to take control of the Gaza Strip may also complicate the situation.
“They are dying there, so we need to finish this deal in a hurry,” said Ayala Metzger, daughter-in-law of hostage Yoram Metzger, who died in captivity.
The war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’ attack that killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostage, has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not differentiate between fighters and noncombatants in their count. Much of the territory has been obliterated.
Violence in the occupied West Bank
Violence has surged in the occupied West Bank during the war and intensified in recent days with an Israeli military operation against Palestinian militants in the territory’s north.
On Sunday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Israeli gunfire killed two women, one of them, Sundus Shalabi, eight months pregnant. It said Rahaf Al-Ashqar, 21, was also killed. The shooting occurred in the Nur Shams urban refugee camp, a focal point of Israeli operations.
Israel’s military said its police had opened an investigation.
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz on Sunday announced the expansion of the operation that started in Jenin several weeks ago. He said it was meant to prevent Iran — allied with Hamas — from establishing a foothold in the West Bank.
 


Israel’s Netanyahu says Trump plan for Gaza ‘revolutionary’

Israel’s Netanyahu says Trump plan for Gaza ‘revolutionary’
Updated 10 February 2025
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Israel’s Netanyahu says Trump plan for Gaza ‘revolutionary’

Israel’s Netanyahu says Trump plan for Gaza ‘revolutionary’
  • Washington on Friday announced the approval of the sale of more than $7.4 billion in bombs, missiles and related equipment to Israel

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday praised a proposal from President Donald Trump for US control of Gaza and the displacement of its population as “revolutionary,” following his return to Israel from Washington.
Trump sparked global outrage by suggesting on Tuesday, during a week-long visit by the Israeli premier to the United States, that Washington should take control of the Gaza Strip and clear out its inhabitants.
On his return to Israel, addressing his cabinet, Netanyahu said the two allies agreed on war aims set out by Israel at the start of its 15-month war against Hamas including “ensuring Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.”
“President Trump came with a completely different, much better vision for Israel — a revolutionary, creative approach that we are currently discussing” the Israeli prime minister said, referring to the president’s Gaza plan.
“He is very determined to implement it and I believe it opens up many, many possibilities for us,” Netanyahu added.
Despite criticisms from international allies and Arab states in particular, Trump on Thursday doubled down on the plan, saying the “Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting.”
“No soldiers by the US would be needed! Stability for the region would reign!!!” he wrote in social media post.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz later on Thursday ordered the army to prepare for “voluntary” departures from Gaza.
“This visit, and the discussions we had with President Trump, carry with them tremendous achievements that could ensure Israel’s security for generations,” Netanyahu said.
Washington on Friday announced the approval of the sale of more than $7.4 billion in bombs, missiles and related equipment to Israel.
The State Department signed off on the sale of $6.75 billion in bombs, guidance kits and fuses, in addition to $660 million in Hellfire missiles, according to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).
Israel launched a hugely destructive offensive against Hamas in Gaza in October 2023 in response to the Palestinian militant groups October 7 attack.
The war has devastated much of the Gaza Strip — a narrow coastal territory on the eastern Mediterranean — but a ceasefire has been in effect since last month that has brought a halt to the deadly conflict and provides for the release of hostages seized by Hamas.