Israeli media reported on Tuesday that no progress was made during a security cabinet meeting on Monday to discuss phase two of the Gaza ceasefire, which includes negotiations on the release of remaining captives and the end of Israel’s brutal war on the Palestinian enclave.
An Israeli delegation left for Cairo on Monday to discuss the continued implementation of phase one but it was not given a mandate to discuss phase two, according to Israeli media reports.
No decisions were made during the five-hour security cabinet meeting, Haaretz reported, while public broadcaster Kan cited estimates from unnamed senior Israeli officials that there was only a low possibility of implementing phase two of the deal in the near future.
Meanwhile, US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham dismissed on Monday President Donald Trump’s proposal to seize Gaza and force out the Palestinians, while Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal said he expects Arab states to put forward a workable alternative.
The prominent lawmakers were among a bipartisan group of US senators who earlier met in Tel Aviv with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who on Sunday repeated his backing for Trump’s controversial vision for Gaza.
Israeli officials have latched onto Trump’s proposal, with Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz instructing the military to prepare a plan that would allow for Palestinians in Gaza to leave voluntarily.
But Graham, a longtime ally of Trump and a key Republican in Congress with influence on foreign policy and national security matters, told reporters there was little appetite in the Senate “for America to take over Gaza in any way, shape or form.”
Blumenthal simply said the plan was a “non-starter”.
Trump’s proposal has been widely denounced by Arab officials, with many pointing out that it equates to ethnic cleansing. Netanyahu as recently as Monday said that the Palestinians in Gaza should be given the choice to leave.
Katz said on Monday that he would establish a directorate within the ministry for the voluntary departure of Palestinians from Gaza.
“The one thing that President Trump has done, he started a discussion that was long overdue,” Graham said, saying that Arab states had “woken up” to finding a better alternative for Gaza.
Saudi, Emirati, Jordanian and Egyptian officials are expected to meet as soon as this month to discuss the future of Gaza, hoping to devise a plan to counter Trump’s proposal that has rattled nearly all Arab capitals after 16 months of war in Gaza
Blumenthal said Jordan’s King Abdullah had convinced him that Arab states would present a plan that covers normalising ties with Israel, self-determination for the Palestinians, regional defence arrangements and security for Israel.
“If those components are part of a realistic plan, it could be a game changer for the region,” he said.
The US Congress delegation also visited the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing to monitor the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Members of the delegation, led by Darrel Issa, the deputy chairman of the Congress Foreign Affairs Committee, expressed their full support for Egypt’s role in ensuring the delivery of aid.
The delegation also met Egyptian military intelligence chief, Maj Gen Khaled Megawer, and they discussed Egyptian efforts to receive and transfer aid into Gaza, as well as receiving Palestinian patients for treatment in Egyptian hospitals.
The Canadian ambassador to Egypt also paid a visit to North Sinai, near the border, where he was briefed about the aid delivery mechanism.
