The US and Israel have agreed to develop a plan to enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announces during a press statement from the US embassy's Tel Aviv branch office. (1/4)
Blinken says the plan pushed by the US will include "the possibility of creating areas to help keep civilians out of harm's way."
"It is critical that aid begin flowing into Gaza as soon as possible," Blinken says. (2/4)
The secretary says that the US is aware that Hamas may try and seize or destroy such aid once it enters Gaza but asserts that the US will condemn such actions if they happen and work to prevent them in the future. (3/4)
Blinken thanks Israel for agreeing to the plan and says US President Joe Biden looks forward to discussing it further when he arrives in Israel on Wednesday. (4/4)
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🧵New: Trump is intent on avoiding a public spat with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, even when there are gaps between the pair on key policies regarding the Middle East, a US official and a Republican source familiar told @TimesofIsrael (1/15) timesofisrael.com/trumps-effusiv…
Trump currently believes that public disagreements with Netanyahu will serve neither his political or strategic interests, particularly in the Gaza Strip, where he aims to announce a transition to phase two of his peace plan within weeks, the two sources said (2/15)
“While some of us working for the president have gotten frustrated with Bibi and feel he has been dragging his feet on phase two of the Gaza deal, the president has intentionally been shielded from those conversations,” the US official said. (3/15)
🧵New: The US threatened last month to personally sanction Mahmoud Abbas and other senior PA officials over illicit payments to Palestinian prisoners, but ultimately held off on the move after Abbas fired the minister who signed off on the stipends (1/15) timesofisrael.com/us-shelved-san…
US planned to designate Abbas, his deputy Hussein al-Sheikh, PA PM Mustafa, finance min Omar Bitar & senior PLO official Ahmad Majdalani as Specially Designated Global Terrorists after getting wind of prisoner payments through old mechanism based on length of their sentence(2/15)
The terror financing sanctions would have significantly curtailed PA’s ability to continue operating, as foreign govs would risk exposing themselves to secondary sanctions from the US if they provided further assistance to Ramallah, which cash-strapped PA desperately needs (3/15)
🧵Analysis: US weighs which side’s red line to cross in implementing Gaza deal phase 2
Saudi, UAE, Jordan, Egypt conditioning help on PA role, which Israel rejects, while Qatari help has fewer strings; MBS Nov 18 DC visit seen as decision deadline (1/29) timesofisrael.com/us-weighs-whic…
The full 20 points of Trump plan were what was first presented to public in Sept as US rallied support for effort, Witkoff & Kushner decided to split them in 2, only securing Israeli & Hamas signatures on 1st phase pertaining to ceasefire, IDF pullback & hostage swap (2/29)
For the time being, the points detailing the postwar management of Gaza & Hamas’s disarmament remain on paper
US working to actualize phase 2 & began w/ creation of Civil-Military Coordination Center in Kiryat Gat, which serves as hub for monitoring & sustaining ceasefire(3/29)
🧵Scoop: A major Jewish American community leader privately lobbied for the release of prominent Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti as part of hostage deal b/n Israel & Hamas expected to commence on Monday, 3 sources familiar told @TimesofIsrael (1/17) timesofisrael.com/us-jewish-comm…
As part of effort, World Jewish Congress pres Ron Lauder offered to travel to Sharm el-Sheikh where talks on deal were being finalized last week to make case for including Barghouti among 250 serving life sentences to be released for remaining 48 hostages (2/17)
The idea was nixed by Netanyahu’s office amid overwhelming opposition to releasing Barghouti, 66, among Israeli cabinet ministers who signed off on the deal, according to a senior Arab official, an Israeli official, and a third source familiar with the matter. (3/17)
🧵Scoop: The US proposal for ending the war in Gaza encourages Palestinians to remain in the Strip and provides for the creation of a pathway to a future Palestinian state, according to a copy of the plan obtained by The Times of Israel. (1/32) timesofisrael.com/revealed-us-21…
The 21-point document shared by the US with a handful of Arab & Muslim countries this week on UNGA sidelines also contains clauses that have been staples in various proposals crafted by stakeholders — from the release of all hostages to Hamas’s removal from power. (2/32)
But the decision to explicitly encourage Palestinians to remain in Gaza capped off a major evolution for the Trump administration on the issue, given that Trump in Feb shocked much of the world with talk of the US taking over Gaza & permanently relocating its entire pop (3/32)
🧵France is advancing an initiative aimed at establishing an “International Stabilization Mission” that would replace the IDF in Gaza and work to disarm Hamas after the war ends, according to a draft of the proposal obtained by @TimesofIsrael (1/30)
The proposal aims to operationalize an internationally-backed declaration from July calling for a two-state solution, the disarmament of Hamas and the gradual transfer of internal security in Gaza to the Palestinian Authority. (2/30)
The proposal envisions several states leading the transitional force and specifically names Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar as preferred candidates. (3/30)