[IsraelTimes] After terror group ignored his first ultimatum, Nickolay Mladenov says an agreement must be reached in two weeks at most before loss of momentum will be too difficult to overcome
The Board of Peace’s lead envoy for Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response ...
admitted Monday that talks with Hamas
 ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
on disarmament are going to take more time, even though the ultimatum he gave for the terror group to accept his proposal on handing over its weapons expired nine days earlier.
"We’ve had some very serious discussions with Hamas over the last few weeks. They’re not easy," Nickolay Mladenov told Rooters in an interview during a visit to Brussels. "I’m fairly optimistic that we will be able to come up with an arrangement that works for all sides and, most importantly, works for the people in Gaza."
US President Donald Trump
...His ancestors didn't own any slaves...
introduced the Board of Peace in September to oversee his plan to end the Israel-Hamas war, subsequently saying it would tackle other conflicts.
The UN Security Council went on to recognize the board, which is chaired by Trump, though many major powers have not joined.
Trump’s Gaza plan, which was initially embraced by Israel and Hamas, calls for Israeli troops to withdraw from Gaza and reconstruct to start as Hamas lays down its weapons.
The disarmament of Hamas has been a key sticking point in talks to implement the plan and cement the ceasefire reached in October, which halted two years of full-blown war triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel. Violence has continued in the Gaza Strip, much of which remains in ruins.
Mladenov has been holding talks with Hamas leaders for weeks, and toward the beginning of the month gave the group until April 11 to accept the Board of Peace’s proposal for it to gradually hand over all of its arms.
The plan, partially leaked to the media, follows an eight-month timeline, beginning with Hamas handing over its heavy weaponry in addition to maps of its tunnel network within 90 days.
HAMAS SAID WILLING TO GIVE UP AUTOMATIC RIFLES, ’OTHER WEAPONS’
The New York Times
...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...
reported Monday that Hamas has countered with its own proposal through which it would give up thousands of automatic rifles and "other weapons" held by its internal security forces, while maintaining the rest of its arsenal.
While the offer marked the first time Hamas has expressed willingness to give up at least some of weapons, it still falls well short of the Board of Peace’s proposal, which requires the complete disarmament of all Gaza terror groups.
The counteroffer would also allow Hamas to hold onto its heavy weapons, such as rockets and missiles, which are supposed to be handed over first along with maps of Gaza’s underground tunnel network, according to the Board of Peace’s proposal.
The Hamas proposal also stipulates that its internal security forces will hand over their weapons to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, the technocratic panel set up by the Board of Peace to govern the Strip.
The two Hamas officials cited by the New York Times did not provide a clear answer when asked if the NCAG could seize weapons belonging to Hamas’s military wing.
HAMAS CLAIMS TO TARGET ISRAELI-BACKED MILITIAS IN KHAN YOUNIS
While the NCAG was formally established in January, the Board of Peace has held off on installing the new government in Gaza until enough progress has been made in stabilizing the situtation there and creating the conditions for the technocratic government to succeed.
While Hamas has expressed its interest in having the NCAG replace it in running Gaza, it has continued to work on reestablishing its dominace in the Strip.
Paleostinian media outlets in Gaza affiliated with Hamas published footage on Monday showing gunnies firing guns in Khan Younis, claiming they were Hamas operatives targeting militias backed by Israel.
Hussam al-Astal, the leader of a militia in the Khan Younis area established last year and supported by Israel, told The Times of Israel that Hamas operatives opened fire on around 20 of his fighters as they were finishing distributing food to civilians in central Khan Younis.
"We were there for three hours — Hamas wasn’t there. As we were leaving, they hid among the people, opened fire, and launched an RPG at us," al-Astal said.
According to him, one militia member was killed in the attack and two others were lightly maimed. He added that while the fighters were armed, they did not return fire in order to avoid harming Paleostinian civilians who were present at the scene. After the shooting stopped, they left the area.
Also Monday, the IDF said two Hamas operatives "who posed an immediate threat" were killed in separate strikes in the Gaza Strip over the 24 hours.
The first strike in central Gaza on Sunday killed Ayman Housna, a Hamas operative who the military says was involved in manufacturing and repairing weapons for the terror group.
The second strike, carried out earlier today, killed Anas Khaled Safi, a Hamas operative who the IDF says was planning an "imminent" attack on troops.
"Both Death Eaters posed an immediate threat to the troops and were eliminated in precise aerial strikes," the military said.
RISK OF LOSING MOMENTUM
In the interview with Rooters, Mladenov said work was underway on an implementation plan that would include disarmament, new governance in Gaza and provisions for an Israeli withdrawal.
"It obviously will take time, but we’re trying to make sure that the arrangements for the implementation of the plan are agreed to as quickly as possible," Mladenov, a former UN Middle East envoy and Bulgarian politician, said.
Asked about when an agreement could be reached on implementation, Mladenov said: "We have a matter of days, maximum a couple of weeks, that is my assessment. Because otherwise we will lose the momentum of what we have, and then every decision will become even more difficult."
While declining to comment on the details of ongoing negotiations, the envoy said he believed there was "a good way forward that is being discussed with both sides."
One of the issues under discussion was the "yellow line" demarcating the territory Israel has occupied since the October ceasefire, Mladenov said. Rooters has reported that Israel has moved the "yellow line" deeper into Gaza.
"There’s a whole set of issues that need to be handled on the ground, including the yellow line," Mladenov said, adding that matters such as access for aid and medicine are also under discussion with Israel.
He also pointed to some changes on the ground.
"We’ve been able to, over the last few days, gradually and very carefully increase the number of people that are allowed to cross through the Rafah crossing. We’re looking at increasing the number of trucks of goods that are going into Gaza," he said. The Rafah crossing connects Gaza to Egypt.
There is also a need to build trust, Mladenov said.
"It’s a very complicated process," he said. "But it is a process that is taking a lot of small steps to get us ultimately to an agreement on the full implementation of the plan."
Trump in February said that US allies have contributed over $7 billion to relief efforts in Gaza and that the US will contribute $10 billion to the Board of Peace. Rooters has reported that the Board of Peace has only received a fraction of what was pledged.
"All the monies that were committed in Washington are there for the Board of Peace," Mladenov insisted. "We don’t have any financial issues related to the work of the Board of Peace."
Member states can earn permanent membership of the board by paying $1 billion.
More than $71 billion will be needed over the next decade for recovery and reconstruction in war-ravaged Gaza, according to the Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment developed by the United Nations
...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships...
and the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
, in coordination with the World Bank, which was published on Monday.
Board of Peace reportedly holds talks with Dubai firm to run Gaza reconstruction
[IsraelTimes] Representatives for Donald Trump’s Board of Peace have held discussions with state-owned Dubai multinational DP World about managing supply chains and other infrastructure projects in Gaza, the Financial Times reports, citing three people familiar with the matter.
The talks examine whether DP World could enter into a partnership with the Board of Peace to run the logistics for humanitarian aid and other goods entering Gaza, the report says.
# id) ?>
|
