Trump Urges Netanyahu in Call to Start Implementing Gaza Peace Plan
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call last Thursday that he wants Israel to start taking steps to implement his Gaza peace plan, Axios reported on November 8, citing two people familiar with the conversation. The call, initiated by Netanyahu, was described by one source as constructive; Secretary of State Marco Rubio, envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner also took part. The White House and Netanyahu's office did not respond to requests for comment.
The plan calls for Hamas to give up its weapons, for Gaza to be demilitarized, and for governance of the territory eventually to be handed to a new Palestinian technocratic government. Implementation has been on hold for months, in part because of Israel's October 27 election, which the Trump administration did not want the plan to disrupt. The Board of Peace set up under the agreement unveiled a six-month, $2.45 billion initial recovery plan for Gaza during the U.N. General Assembly in September.
A day after the call, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who serves on the Board of Peace, was in Israel meeting Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot, the politician tasked with trying to form a new government. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz reiterated on Sunday that Israel would not withdraw from Gaza, Lebanon or Syria.
Netanyahu remains skeptical that Hamas is willing to demilitarize. According to people familiar with the matter, the process will be difficult, and Israel will only have to take steps once Hamas begins to disarm.
(Source: Axios)
Source: Axios
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：内塔尼亚胡（左）与特朗普在白宫会面（资料图，本站档案图）。 / Photo: Benjamin Netanyahu (left) meeting Donald Trump at the White House (file photo, GSM archive).
