| |
Hamas to Dissolve Gaza Government 01/12 06:14
CAIRO (AP) -- Hamas said Sunday it will dissolve its existing government in
Gaza once a Palestinian technocratic leadership committee takes over the
territory, as mandated under the U.S.-brokered peace plan. But the group gave
no specifics on when the change will occur.
Hamas and the rival Palestinian Authority, the Palestinians' internationally
recognized representative, have not announced the names of the technocrats, who
are not supposed to be politically affiliated, and it remains unclear if they
will be cleared by Israel and the U.S.
The "Board of Peace," an international body led by Trump, is supposed to
oversee the government and other aspects of the ceasefire that took effect on
Oct. 10, including disarming Hamas and deploying an international security
force. The board's members have not been announced.
Meanwhile, the post-ceasefire death toll continued to rise in Gaza, with
Israeli gunfire killing three Palestinians, according to Palestinian hospital
officials.
The ceasefire began with a halt in fighting and the release of hostages held
in Gaza in exchange for thousands of Palestinians held by Israel. The deal is
still in its first phase as efforts continue to recover the remains of the
final hostage left in Gaza.
An Egyptian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss
closed-door information, said Hamas was sending a delegation to talks with
Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish officials about moving to the second phase.
Future Gaza governance in flux
In comments posted on his Telegram channel Sunday, Hazem Kassem, a Hamas
spokesperson, called for speeding up the establishment of the technocratic
committee.
The Egyptian official said Hamas will meet with other Palestinian factions
this week to finalize the committee's formation. The Hamas delegation will be
chaired by top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, the official said.
Trump has said the "Board of Peace " will monitor the committee and handle
the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of an international security force,
additional pullbacks of Israeli troops and Gaza's reconstruction. The U.S. has
reported little progress on any of these fronts, though the members of the
board are expected to be announced this week.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Bulgarian
diplomat Nickolay Mladenov has been selected as the board's director-general.
Mladenov is a former Bulgarian defense and foreign minister who served as U.N.
envoy to Iraq before being appointed as the U.N. Mideast peace envoy from 2015
to 2020. During that time, he had good working relations with Israel and
frequently worked to ease Israel-Hamas tensions.
Also Sunday, Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar met in Jerusalem with
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. Saar said Israel was committed to
enforcing Trump's plan, while Motegi expressed Japan's willingness to play an
active role in the ceasefire.
According to Japan's Foreign Ministry, Motegi visited the Civil-Military
Coordination Center, where the ceasefire is being monitored. He was also set to
meet Netanyahu and Palestinian officials in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Violence in Gaza continues
In Gaza, two men were shot dead in the southern town of Bani Suhaila,
according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. Earlier Sunday, a man
was killed by Israeli gunfire in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City,
according to Al-Ahly hospital, which received the body.
In response to questions about the Tuffah incident, Israel's military said
it had fired at and hit a "terrorist" in northern Gaza who had approached
troops. In a later statement, the military said it had killed a "terrorist" in
southern Gaza who approached troops.
Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the ceasefire.
Continued Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed more than 400 Palestinians,
according to local health officials.
The Israeli military says any actions since the ceasefire began have been in
response to violations of the agreement.
Israeli police detain top official
Israeli police said Sunday they were questioning a top official from
Netanyahu's office over possible obstruction of an investigation into last
year's leak of classified military information to a German tabloid.
Israeli media identified the official as Tzachi Braverman, Netanyahu's chief
of staff, who is expected to start as the next ambassador to the United Kingdom
in the coming months.
He's the latest official to be caught up in the scandal, in which
Netanyahu's inner circle is accused of leaking confidential information to
German tabloid Bild to improve public perception of the prime minister
following the killing of six hostages in Gaza in 2024.
It comes after an explosive interview by Kan News with former Netanyahu
spokesperson Eli Feldstein, who described a clandestine meeting with Braverman
in an underground parking lot in the middle of the night in connection with the
leak. Feldstein, who has been indicted, said Braverman offered to "shut down"
the probe into the leaked information.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid immediately called for the suspension of
Braverman as ambassador. "It is unacceptable that a person suspected of
involvement in obstructing a serious security investigation should be the face
of Israel in one of Europe's most important countries," Lapid wrote on X.
In response, Saar defended Braverman's appointment and said he would not be
removed from it until formally charged or tried.
|
|
