A day after expressing optimism that a ceasefire and hostage agreement were approaching, Israel’s defense minister pledged that it will retain complete freedom of action in the Gaza Strip after combat in the Palestinian enclave stops.
During a closed-door parliamentary committee session on Monday, Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that Israel was closer to a ceasefire agreement than it has ever been. An Israeli legislator in attendance confirmed the remark to NBC News.
Despite the fact that ceasefire negotiations have failed several times in the past, two American and Israeli officials told NBC News this week that Hamas had given up important principles in order to reach an agreement.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Hamas agreed to submit a complete list of hostages, including American citizens, to be released and that Israeli soldiers would stay in Gaza for a while after the cessation of hostilities. According to the sources, the agreement would also see Israel release a significant number of Palestinian inmates to Hamas.
These concessions were initially reported by the Wall Street Journal. NBC News and other outlets have not received confirmation from Hamas that it has consented to the presence of Israeli forces in Gaza.
Hamas stated on Tuesday that serious and constructive talks had taken place in Doha and that, if Israel stops imposing additional demands, a ceasefire agreement and prisoner swap may be reached.
Katz stated Tuesday morning that whenever the conflict stops, Israel will continue to rule Gaza.
He said on X, “Israel will securely control Gaza with full freedom of action after the military and governmental power of Hamas in Gaza is defeated.” He compared this to Israel’s existing dominance over the occupied West Bank.
When NBC News asked Katz for clarification on what complete freedom of action would entail, Katz did not immediately reply. However, the analogy to the West Bank highlights a major worry for Palestinians and those who support them: the prospect of an extended Israeli military presence in Gaza, similar to that of the West Bank, where Israel maintains final authority over territory and settlements and conducts frequent raids.
Katz’s analogies to the West Bank, according to Yossi Mekelberg, a senior advisory fellow with Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa program, imply that Israel will have complete authority to enter at any moment and through any methods.
“That s a completely fair enough interpretation, considering that we know what happens in the West Bank,” he stated. Is a ceasefire deal going to state that? I’m not sure.”
Katz claimed that Israel had never been closer to a truce, but Israeli hostage negotiator and frequent opponent of Netanyahu’s government Gershon Baskin stated he did not believe Katz.
“I have difficult accepting that Hamas has dropped its fundamental demand of an obligation to end the war including full Israeli withdrawal,” he said on WhatsApp to NBC News.
Donald Trump, the president-elect, has accelerated talks by reiterating on Monday that if a deal is not reached by the time he takes office on January 20, there will be hell to pay.
Trump’s pressure was a big influence in Hamas’s concessions on two crucial areas during ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with Israel, a senior administration source told NBC News on Friday.
The insider told NBC News that Trump’s warning that he wants to see a deal before he takes office was a major influence in recent concessions, saying, “There is a confidence we have not seen since May when President Joe Biden presented his proposal.”
During a news conference last week in Tel Aviv, national security adviser Jake Sullivan stated that the United States intends to reach a ceasefire agreement before the end of the month.
According to the top Biden administration source, recent regional events such as the demise of Hezbollah, the collapse of Syrian tyrant Bashar al-Assad, and the deterioration of Iran, the terrorist organization’s longtime supporter, also had a role in Hamas’ capitulation.
For months, negotiations have been going on to gain the release of the remaining captives that Hamas took during the terror strike on October 7, 2023. Israeli sources estimate that the attack killed some 1,200 people in the nation and took 250 hostages, many of whom are currently being held captive by Hamas and other extremist organizations.
According to relief groups and health officials in the enclave, Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip has killed over 45,000 people, with over half of them being women and children. The bulk of the Palestinian population has been forced from their houses, and much of the enclave has been destroyed.
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