The best American envoy in the Middle East was to meet on Wednesday with the Israeli Prime Minister and, potentially, visit the Gaza Strip to strengthen a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which, if it were permanent, would allow Thousands of other displaced Palestinians to return to their homes.
The envoy, Steven Witkoff, was to inspect the Netzarim corridor, a band of four miles that bisette Gaza, where the American security entrepreneurs were recruited to help manage the return of the displaced Palestinians. It would be the highest American official to visit Gaza over the years, both due to security problems and the official American policy without contact with Hamas.
An Israeli official, who was not authorized to comment on publicly and spoke under the guise of anonymity, said that Mr. Witkoff had arrived in Israel to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his best collaborators after discussions on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia For a wider Middle East Plan of Peace.
Mr. Witkoff said in an interview with Fox News last week That he planned to visit the Netzarim corridor in Gaza and, further south, the Philadelphi corridor on the border with Egypt during the trip, but the moment was not clear because the travel schedules are generally kept closely for ensure security. The United States Embassy in Jerusalem and Mr. Netanyahu’s office did not respond to requests for comments on Wednesday.
At the start of the 15 -month war, the Israeli army ordered a massive evacuation in the north of Gaza, forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee south. For months, Israeli soldiers patrolled the netzarim corridor in part to prevent the Palestinians from returning north.
But in the words of a 42-day ceasefire agreement which was reached last week, Israeli troops withdrew the two main roads on Monday along the netzarim corridor to allow the Gazans to go to the north. On Tuesday, more than 376,000 people had reached northern Gaza, according to the Latest data of the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs Coordination.
The American Firm Safe Reach Solutions should supervise the operational management of the corridor, according to a person familiar with the plan, while two other companies – an American, an Egyptian – will manage the real inspections of those who go north.
The Philadelphi corridor, as he is known in Israel, is a border band of about eight miles between Egypt and Gaza. Israeli troops currently maintain control of the region, but they should withdraw during the second phase of the ceasefire, the whose details are still being negotiated. Netanyahu described the corridor as “rescue buoy” for smuggling Hamas.
Mr. Witkoff played an important role in the brokerage of the initial cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, teaming up with leaders of the Biden administration, Qatar and Egypt in the days preceding The inauguration of Trump.
Mr. Witkoff’s visit comes before the third cycle of hostage and prisoners between Israel and Hamas, which is expected on Thursday. As part of the ceasefire agreement, 33 Israeli hostages were to be released in the first phase in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Seven have already returned home, and eight of the remaining hostages are no longer alive, according to Israeli officials.
Netanyahu was invited to meet President Trump on February 4 at the White House. The Trump administration is trying to negotiate a broader peace agreement from the Middle East which would include diplomatic normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, an agreement that Trump sought in his first mandate. But this pact is largely based on the plans of the future of Gaza.
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with the foreign ministers of Egypt and Qatar to discuss continuous cooperation in Gaza. This would include “post-conflict planning to ensure that Hamas can never govern Gaza again or threaten Israel”, according to a Reading of the State Department From Mr. Rubio’s appeal with the Egyptian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Badr Abdeatty. Although Hamas was weakened, the militant group survived the war in Gaza and remains the most powerful Palestinian party in the territory.
Trump also called on Egypt and Jordan to welcome Palestinians from Gaza and “clean up” the territory, he told journalists last weekend. This was refused by the two countries, and Wednesday, the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization spoke with Mr. Abdeatty to reaffirm the rejection by Egypt of Mr. Trump’s proposal.
“The means of consolidating the ceasefire and providing humanitarian aid were discussed, and the support of the Palestinian people to stay on their land and the absolute rejection of their trip has been underlined,” said the secretary general of OLP, Hussein al-Sheikh, said on social networks. Mr. Al-Sheikh is considered a potential successor to the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.
Mr. Witkoff also met Mr. Al-Sheikh, in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, before going to Israel, according to two Palestinian officials who asked for anonymity to discuss a closed-door meeting.
Adam RASGON Contributed reports.
