Netanyahu sent a delegation to Qatar’s capital Doha to discuss “technical details” [Getty]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not want to continue Gaza’s ceasefire into phase two, according to a new report citing Israeli sources.
Sources told Israeli publication Haaretz that Netanyahu’s sending of an Israeli delegation to Qatar’s capital Doha, to discuss “technical details” signaled that he did not want to progress into the next phase. It is unknown what the said details are.
“He’s sending a team without a mandate and without the ability to do anything,” the source was quoted by Haaretz as saying, noting that within Israel the posturing of Hamas at captive exchanges and pressure from Israel’s far-right is putting pressure on Netanyahu not to continue.
“Netanyahu knows he doesn’t have a government if he proceeds with the deal,” the source said.
Members of Israel’s government have been vehemently against the ceasefire agreement, with former National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir voting against the deal and resigning from the cabinet after its approval.
Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich of the Religious Zionist Party also voted against the deal, but said he would continue to stay in the cabinet to pressure Netanyahu to go back to war after the deal’s first phase.
Another source told the publication that Netanyahu’s initiative, which has seen him replace key members of the Israeli negotiation team with loyalists, could result in an undermining of the completion of the first phase.
Phase two negotiations, which were scheduled to start on 3 February, were delayed following deliberations from Netanyahu prior to a meeting with US President Donald Trump and his Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff. He later approved sending the delegation after the meetings.
The visit saw Trump announce his Gaza displacement plan, which would see the US take over the enclave with the Palestinian population displaced to neighbouring countries. Trump said that this displacement could be permanent, although White House staff have walked back on his comments.
Netanyahu himself suggested that Saudi Arabia has “a lot of land” for a Palestinian state, in comments that were later described by the Arab League as showing “a complete detachment from reality”.
The Israeli delegation to Qaatar, however, does not have a mandate to discuss phase two pending approval from the Israeli cabinet. A full cabinet meeting is set to be held on Sunday, with a security cabinet meeting to be convened on Tuesday, according to the Times of Israel.
On Sunday, US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said that Israel “will continue to destroy Hamas if they do not honor the terms of this ceasefire”, in comments made to NBC.
Haaretz reported on Saturday that the US has backed a resumption of fighting if the ceasefire fails to progress into the second phase.
