Rabat – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sent his negotiation team to Doha for the second round of Gaza truce talks.
This comes after Netanyahu paused sending the delegation to Qatar last week, delaying the talks until he met with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
Following the release of the three Israeli hostages yesterday, the Israel head has vowed to “crush” Hamas.
Israeli media suggest that the negotiation team “has no mandate,” with Haaretz quoting a source saying “It’s a show.”
The source said that “Netanyahu is signaling quite clearly that he doesn’t want to move to the next phase. He’s sending a team without a mandate and without the ability to do anything.”
Jerusalem Post also also cited an Israeli official who said that the delegation will have a “symbolic warm-up trip,” that is aimed at only discussing Israel’s position.
Netanyahu is reportedly not willing to advance to the next stage of the ceasefire due to his claims that the three Israeli hostages released yesterday were subjected to “inhumane conditions.”
Israel’s Prime Minister’s actions are influenced by an internal ongoing crisis with the right-wing, who consider the deal as defeat to their country.
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An Israeli official said that the “right-wing voters see that we haven’t defeated Hamas, and its operatives are still roaming with weapons,” echoing Netanyahu’s vow to terminate Hamas’ existence in the Gaza enclave.
“Netanyahu knows he doesn’t have a government if he proceeds with the deal,” the source added.
However, some Israeli officials warn that Israel won’t reap the fruits of the first stage, particularly the release of Israeli hostages if Hamas knows Netanyahu’s intentions not to reach a permanent ceasefire.
“The process is working, hostages are being released, but Hamas is doing this with the expectation of a second stage, leading to a [full] cease-fire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Once Hamas realizes there won’t be a second stage, they may not complete the first,” the source explained.
If the reports of Netanyahu’s refusal to progress are true, this will significantly hamper the proceedings of the Gaza ceasefire negotiations and threatens the genocide to resume in the enclave at the hands of the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF).
This comes amid Trump’s controversial plans which he announced after the Netanyahu meeting, in which he aims to forcibly displace Gazans to several countries in the region and “take over” the enclave to turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” Analysts and observers around the world are calling the US president out for threatening ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.
These developments are causing instability and uncertainty for Palestinians who suffered 15-months of IOF war crimes, and threaten their dreams to regain quality of life and rebuild their ravaged land.
