1 \ NEW: I reported tonight on @news10:Ssignificant progress made in the talks that are led by Egypt & UN envoy @nmladenov on a deal to stabilize Gaza
2 \ PM Netanyahu told senior cabinet ministers that an initiative for the stabilization of Gaza with the participation of Israel, Egypt & the UN will be promoted soon, Senior Israeli officials tell me
3 \ A senior cabinet minister told me: "There is willingness to go for a deal in Gaza. There is an intention to do it and I hope Netanyahu will bring it to a vote in the cabinet"
4 \ A senior diplomatic source who is briefed on the Gaza talks told me: “It is work in progress but UN & Egypt are applying immense pressure on all sides...this has been an unprecedented initiative but is still too early to say if it will succeed. The stakes are very high”
5 \ The two main player behind the initiative are the director of the Egyptian intelligence service Abbas Kamel and UN envoy @nmladenov. President Trump's senior adviser Jared Kushner & special envoy @jdgreenblatt45 are also in the loop & follow the efforts
6 \ The deal being negotiated by Egypt & the UN will include a stable cease fire in Gaza, rehabilitation of critical infrastructure in Gaza and the gradual handover of governance in Gaza from Hamas to the Palestinian Authority
7 \ A 2nd Israeli cabinet minister told me the ball is in the PA and Hamas court: "We want to see if Abbas is ready to lift his sanctions from Gaza and resume PA activity there and if Hamas is ready to stop the violence. This is a must. We want a deal but we are not suckers"
8 \ One of the reasons for the urgency to stabilize Gaza has to do with the beginning of the school year. Israeli cabinet ministers were briefed that at the moment there is no money to pay teachers and 270K students in Gaza won't have school. This could lead to further escalation
9 \ Main reasons for the school year crisis are: a. Abbas's sanctions on Gaza; b. U.S. funding cut to UNRWA. To prevent escalation Israeli security services are trying to come up with alternative ways for funding the schools in Gaza. END
