Netanyahu has postponed sending a negotiation team to Qatar for ceasefire talks until after meeting with US President Donald Trump, raising concerns over the deal’s second phase.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided not to send a negotiation team to Qatar for talks on the second phase of a ceasefire deal until after he met with US President Donald Trump, according to a report by the Israeli Walla news outlet, cited by the Anadolu news agency.
The report said Netanyahu prefers to delay any action until after his meeting with Trump, citing an unnamed senior Israeli source. Netanyahu will begin a visit to the US on Sunday.
Prime Minister Netanyahu before taking off for an official visit in Washington:
“I’m leaving for a very important meeting with President Trump in Washington.
The fact that this would be President Trump’s first meeting with a foreign leader since his inauguration is telling. pic.twitter.com/IeFwm4uS8I
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) February 2, 2025
The decision comes as negotiations on the second phase of the deal set to begin on Monday.
Walla quoted an unnamed senior Israeli source as saying the delay was a “very worrying sign” regarding the implementation of the deal’s second phase, the Times of Israel reported.
The second stage was expected to include “the return of all remaining living” captives held by Hamas in Gaza, the news outlet said. The number of Palestinian detainees to be released in exchange for the Israeli captives was yet to be determined. Israel was also expected to withdraw from the enclave fully.
Israeli-American Alliance
Before boarding his plane on Sunday, Netanyahu told reporters that his meetings in Washington “will deal with important, critical issues facing Israel and the region,” the Times of Israel reports.
This includes “victory over Hamas, achieving the release of all our hostages, and dealing with the Iranian terror axis in all its components,” an “axis” he claims “threatens the peace of Israel, the Middle East and the entire world.”
The Israeli prime minister is the first foreign leader to be invited by Trump to visit the White House since his inauguration.
Trump Invites Netanyahu to White House as US Envoy Visits Gaza and Israel
Netanyahu described the invitation as a “testimony to the strength of the Israeli-American alliance.”
“The decisions we’ve made in the war have already changed the face of the Middle East,” he said.
Meeting Canceled
Additionally, Netanyahu reportedly canceled a planned meeting with Mossad chief David Barnea, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and other senior negotiators, instead sending his military secretary, Roman Gofman, to inform them of the delay, reported Anadolu.
Hamas Delegation Meets Egyptian Officials over Gaza Ceasefire, Prisoner Swap
The premier is also said to be considering appointing Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer as head of the team, arguing that the talks are more diplomatic than security-focused, Anadolu cited a report by The Times of Israel.
The ceasefire agreement between the Israeli occupation and Palestinian Resistance took effect on January 19, ending 15 months of Israeli genocide in Gaza, which resulted in tens of thousands of casualties as well as the widespread displacement of nearly the entire population.
(PC, Anadolu)
Scumbag piece of sh!t. I am a pacifist, but i sincerely hope he dies, right now…the world would be a better place without him. And the children will be safe from him and his pedo friends.
and Trump just OK’d more 2,000 pound bombs, saying, ” well they’d already purchased them ” , soooo….ya know, whatcanidooo?
well, idiot – you could just give them back their – no wait, that was a purchase made with OUR money, d!ckhead…
but we all saw this coming. ” Israel ” cannot be trusted. Zionism is defeating Judaism and most Jews are too needy to see it.