Netanyahu freezes provisions of Trump's plan...an immediate suspension of the police force file in Gaza

Tel Aviv - Ofoq News - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suspended the implementation of some provisions related to the peace plan in Gaza and postponed a plan for security training that approximately 7,000 Palestinians were to undergo on a list recently approved by the Israeli General Security Service, “Shin Bet”.

The members of that list were supposed to undergo security training in Egypt as part of the formation of a new Palestinian police force dedicated to working in the Gaza Strip, before Netanyahu blocked that step.

According to the newspaper "Israel Hayom", Netanyahu issued instructions to officials in recent days to postpone the training, noting that the role of the Shin Bet was limited to conducting security checks on the backgrounds of the names provided by the "Peace Council", the international body that was established to supervise the implementation of US President Donald Trump's peace plan in Gaza.

Netanyahu's decision to postpone the departure of Palestinians for training in Egypt comes within a broader series of measures that the Israeli political leadership has postponed implementation until after the elections.

The postponed measures include preparations for the reconstruction of Rafah, including the construction of a new city, the deployment of a multinational force, and the entry of the National Committee for the Administration of the Gaza Strip (NCAG) into the Strip, a committee established in January headed by Dr. Ali Shaath, and including about 15 other technocrats.

The newspaper quoted sources familiar with the details that, in recent weeks, the political leadership issued successive instructions to postpone Gaza reconstruction initiatives, instead of issuing a single explicit directive to stop the entire process.

The general content of these directives indicated that moving forward with these procedures would take place after the elections.

The newspaper saw that these delays seem to reflect the political difficulties that Netanyahu may face at the current stage, with regard to moving forward with the reconstruction of Gaza and allowing Palestinians from the Strip to undergo training in Egypt.

Planned measures for the reconstruction of Rafah - including the formation of an armed Palestinian police force trained in Egypt and the establishment of a national committee to administer the Gaza Strip - are part of the terms of the agreement imposed on Israel as part of the deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages, which was concluded just over a year ago.

A source familiar with the details acknowledged that, “In recent weeks, Netanyahu has halted a large number of initiatives related to the Gaza Strip, and postponed them until after the elections.”

The source added: “Hamas is not giving up its weapons, yet Israel will still be required to approve these measures. The only reason not to move forward with them now is that Netanyahu asked to postpone them until after the elections.”

The Southern Command of the Israeli army is preparing for a group of possible attacks by the Hamas movement, based on an assessment that the movement does not stand idly by, but rather intends to resume its operations against Israel at some point.

Senior Israeli army officers have repeatedly stated that a return to fighting in Gaza will eventually become inevitable, according to the Hebrew newspaper.

However, the US administration currently believes it is necessary to continue efforts to implement the agreement, despite the failure to reach a solution to the issue that constitutes the greatest source of concern to Israel, which is: demilitarizing the Gaza Strip and disarming the Hamas movement.

The newspaper confirmed that there is a consensus among senior leaders in Israel that there is no party other than Israel that has the desire or ability to disarm Hamas.

However, Israel currently finds itself forced to work within the framework set by Washington, while the Israeli army continues to launch raids in the Gaza Strip on an almost daily basis, targeting armed elements who have returned to their activities, along with others who carried out the attack on October 7, 2023.

In this case, the role of the Shin Bet is nothing more than an intermediary, approving or rejecting the names submitted to it based on security considerations. The directive to stop the operation was issued directly by the political leadership during recent days.

Netanyahu's office responded by saying: "The Prime Minister does not allow this, regardless of the elections. Since the release of all the hostages, Hamas has been systematically violating President Trump's 20-point plan. Accordingly, the Prime Minister made it clear that there will be no reconstruction process and no police force in the Gaza Strip, until Hamas is completely disarmed and the entire Strip is demilitarized."