[🇧🇩] Israel and Hamas war in Gaza-----Can Bangladesh be a peace broker?

[Saif]

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Trump administration to cancel student visas of pro-Palestinian protesters
REUTERS
Published :
Jan 30, 2025 00:37
Updated :
Jan 30, 2025 00:42

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One before arriving at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US on January 27, 2025 — Reuters photo

US President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Wednesday (US standard time) to combat antisemitism and pledge to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests, a White House official said.

A fact sheet on the order promises "immediate action" by the Justice Department to prosecute "terroristic threats, arson, vandalism and violence against American Jews" and marshal all federal resources to combat what it called "the explosion of antisemitism on our campuses and streets" since the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

"To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you," Trump said in the fact sheet.

"I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before."

The Hamas attacks and the subsequent Israeli assault on Gaza led to several months of pro-Palestinian protests that roiled US college campuses, with civil rights groups documenting rising antisemitic, anti-Arab and Islamophobic incidents.

The order will require agency and department leaders to provide the White House with recommendations within 60 days on all criminal and civil authorities that could be used to fight antisemitism, and would demand "the removal of resident aliens who violate our laws."

The fact sheet said protesters engaged in pro-Hamas vandalism and intimidation, blocked Jewish students from attending classes and assaulted worshippers at synagogues, as well as vandalised US monuments and statues.

Many pro-Palestinian protesters denied supporting Hamas or engaging in antisemitic acts, and said they were demonstrating against Israel's military assault on Gaza, where health authorities say more than 47,000 people have been killed.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a large Muslim advocacy group, accused the Trump administration of an assault on "free speech and Palestinian humanity under the guise of combating antisemitism," and described Wednesday's order as "dishonest, overbroad and unenforceable."

During his 2024 election campaign, Trump promised to deport those he called "pro-Hamas" students in the United States on visas.

On his first day in office, he signed an executive order that rights groups say lays the groundwork for the reinstatement of a ban on travelers from predominantly Muslim or Arab countries, and offers wider authorities to use ideological exclusion to deny visa requests and remove individuals already in the country.​

 

[Saif]

Israel halts prisoner release after Gaza hostages freed

Israel on Thursday suspended the planned release of Palestinian prisoners after Gaza’s Hamas members freed three Israeli hostages and five Thais amid chaotic scenes....

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Israel halts prisoner release after Gaza hostages freed
Agence France-Presse . Jerusalem 30 January, 2025, 23:18

Israel on Thursday suspended the planned release of Palestinian prisoners after Gaza’s Hamas members freed three Israeli hostages and five Thais amid chaotic scenes.

‘Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with defence minister Israel Katz, has instructed the delay of the release of the members scheduled for today until the safe departure of our hostages in the upcoming phases is assured,’ Netanyahu’s office said.

Israel had been due to free 110 prisoners, including 30 minors, in exchange for the three Israelis, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group said earlier.

A Hamas source said the group was in touch with mediators to ‘compel’ Israel to release the 110 prisoners in the third exchange under the January 19 ceasefire deal aimed at ending the war in Gaza.

Israel later said it had received assurance from mediators over the future ‘safe release’ of captives.

Another hostage and prisoner release had been scheduled for Saturday, with three Israeli men due to be set free.

The prisoner release setback came after Hamas in Gaza freed three Israeli hostages and five Thais captured in Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Netanyahu denounced what he called ‘shocking scenes’ during the hostage releases in Khan Yunis.

Television images showed gunmen struggling to control hundreds of Gazans there to witness the handover.

‘This is yet another proof of the unimaginable cruelty of the Hamas terrorist organisation,’ Netanyahu said.

First to be freed Thursday was Israeli woman soldier Agam Berger, 20, handed over separately to International Committee of the Red Cross officials in Jabalia in northern Gaza.

Before she was freed, footage showed her on a stage with masked Hamas members in distinctive green headbands, being prompted to wave to onlookers.

Israel’s military said the three Israeli hostages and five Thais were now back in Israel.

The two other freed Israelis are civilians Gadi Moses, 80, and Arbel Yehud, 29, both of whom also hold German nationality.

Netanyahu’s office named the freed Thais as Watchara Sriaoun, Pongsak Tanna, Sathian Suwannakham, Surasak Lamnau and Bannawat Saethao.

Thailand’s prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said she was ‘elated’ that they were out of captivity.

In devastated Khan Yunis, dense crowds gathered to catch a glimpse of Yehud and Moses ahead of their release near the childhood home of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who Israel killed in October.

On Wednesday, the Moses family said it had ‘received with great excitement the wonderful news of our beloved Gadi’s return’.

The January 19 ceasefire hinges on the release of Israeli hostages taken during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, in exchange for around 1,900 people — mostly Palestinians — in Israeli custody.

Before Thursday, Hamas had released seven hostages, with 290 prisoners freed in exchange.

The halt to the prisoner releases led to disappointment for around 300 Palestinians waiting for relatives in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank.

‘I am so tired. This isn’t fair. See for yourself all the families that came to wait and now are uncertain when we will see them,’ said Raghed Nasser, 21, whose father Hussein was jailed 22 years ago while her mother was pregnant with her.

The truce deal has allowed a surge of aid into the devastated Gaza Strip, where the war has created a long-running humanitarian crisis.

However, senior Hamas officials accused Israel of slowing aid deliveries, with one citing key items such as fuel, tents, heavy machinery and other equipment.

COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body that oversees civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, called this ‘totally fake news’.

As the text of the agreement — mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States — has not been made public, AFP was not able to verify its terms on aid.

The ceasefire deal is currently in its first, 42-day phase, which should see 33 hostages freed. The Thai hostages are not included in that number.

US president Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for sealing the agreement, which took effect before his inauguration, and his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who took part in the talks, met Netanyahu in Israel on Wednesday.

Trump has invited Netanyahu to the White House on February 4, according to the premier’s office.

After the truce began, Trump touted a plan to ‘clean out’ Gaza, calling for Palestinians to relocate to neighbouring countries such as Egypt or Jordan.

However, both Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II rejected this.

More than 3,76,000 displaced Palestinians have gone back to northern Gaza since Israel reopened access earlier this week, according to the UN humanitarian office OCHA, with many returning to little more than rubble.

‘My house is destroyed,’ 33-year-old Mohammed Al-Faleh said.

‘The biggest problem is that there is no water,’ he added. ‘Food aid is reaching Gaza but there is no gas or electricity. We bake bread on a fire fuelled by wood and nylon.’

Israel cut ties with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) from Thursday following accusations it provided cover for Hamas, a move likely to hamper delivery of vital services after 15 months of war in Gaza.

UNRWA, which has long been the lead agency in coordinating aid to Gaza, will be banned from operating on Israeli soil, and contact between it and Israeli officials will also be forbidden.

UN chief Antonio Guterres had demanded Israel retract its order.​

 

[Saif]

Hamas to free three Israeli hostages in next ceasefire swap

Hamas and Israel will carry out their fourth hostage-prisoner swap of the Gaza ceasefire on Saturday, with the militant group to free three Israeli captives in exchange for 90 inmates in Israeli jails.

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Hamas to free three Israeli hostages in next ceasefire swap
Agence France-Presse . Jerusalem 01 February, 2025, 01:25

Hamas and Israel will carry out their fourth hostage-prisoner swap of the Gaza ceasefire on Saturday, with the militant group to free three Israeli captives in exchange for 90 inmates in Israeli jails.

Militants in Gaza began releasing hostages after the first 42-day phase of the ceasefire with Israel took effect on January 19. The hostages have been in captivity for nearly 15 months.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants have so far handed over 15 hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Israeli campaign group, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, named the captives to be released on Saturday as Yarden Bibas, Keith Seigel, who also has US citizenship, and Ofer Kalderon, who also holds French nationality.

The office of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed it had received the names of the three captives to be released.

In exchange, Israel will free 90 prisoners, nine of whom are serving life sentences, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group said.

During their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel which started the Gaza war, militants abducted Siegel from kibbutz Kfar Aza, and Kalderon and Bibas from kibbutz Nir Oz.

Militants took a total of 251 people hostage that day. Of those, 79 still remain in Gaza, including at least 34 the military says are dead.

Those seized include the wife and two children of Bibas, whom Hamas has already declared dead, although Israeli officials have yet to confirm that.

The two Bibas boys — Kfir, the youngest hostage, who turned two in captivity earlier this month, and his four-year-old brother Ariel — have become symbols of the suffering of the hostages held in Gaza.

The children were taken along with their mother, Shiri.

Hamas says the boys and their mother were killed in an Israeli air strike in November 2023.

The arrangements for hostage handovers in Gaza have sometimes been chaotic, particularly for the most recent handover in the southern city of Khan Yunis, which produced scenes that the Israeli prime minister condemned as ‘shocking’.

Woman hostage Arbel Yehud was visibly distressed as masked gunman struggled to clear a path for her through crowds of spectators desperate to witness her handover, television images showed.

Israel briefly delayed Thursday’s prisoner release in protest and the ICRC urged all parties to improve security.

‘The security of these operations must be assured, and we urge for improvements in the future,’ ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric said.

Later on Thursday, Israeli authorities released 110 imates from Ofer prison, including high-profile former militant commander Zakaria Zubeidi, 49, who was given a hero’s welcome in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Also freed was Hussein Nasser, who received little attention from the crowd but was at the centre of his daughters’ world.

‘Where’s Dad?’ Raghda Nasser asked tearfully as she moved through the crowd, an AFP correspondent reported.

Raghda, 21, hugged her father in the flesh for the first time Thursday night. Her mother was pregnant with her when he was jailed 22 years ago.

‘I just visited him behind the glass in Israeli prisons. I cannot express my feelings,’ Raghda said.

The fragile ceasefire hinges on the release of a total of 33 hostages in exchange for around 1,900 people — mostly Palestinians — in Israeli jails.

The truce deal has allowed a surge of aid into Gaza, where the war has created a long-running humanitarian crisis.

Negotiations for a second phase of the deal are set to start on Monday, according to a timeline provided by an Israeli official. This phase would cover the release of the remaining captives.

During the current phase, more than 4,62,000 war-displaced Palestinians have returned to the north of Gaza since Israel restored access on Monday, according to UN figures. Many have gone back to homes that have been completely destroyed.​

 

[Saif]

Hamas-Israel complete fourth hostage-prisoner swap

Freed Palestinian inmates were greeted by a cheering crowd in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on Saturday, after Hamas released three Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip in the fourth exchange under the group’s ceasefire deal with Israel...

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Hamas-Israel complete fourth hostage-prisoner swap
Agence France-Presse . Gaza City 01 February, 2025, 23:54

Freed Palestinian inmates were greeted by a cheering crowd in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on Saturday, after Hamas released three Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip in the fourth exchange under the group’s ceasefire deal with Israel.

Three other buses carrying freed Palestinians also arrived in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, with the inmates in grey prison uniforms met by hundreds of well-wishers.

In Ramallah, the bus carrying the inmates struggled to make its way through the jubilant throng of supporters as it arrived from the Israeli-run Ofer Prison.

Several of the freed inmates were hoisted onto the crowd’s shoulders, including an elderly man who raised his crutches over his head in a triumphant pose.

Earlier in Gaza, hostages Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas were paraded on stage by Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross in the southern city of Khan Yunis. American-Israeli Keith Siegel was freed shortly thereafter in a similar ceremony at Gaza City’s port in the north.

Israel’s military later confirmed that all three were back in Israel.

Israeli campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum hailed the release as ‘a ray of light in the darkness’.

French-Israeli hostage Kalderon’s uncle Shemi said: ‘We have waited for this moment for a very long time.’

‘I hope that this is a sign of the rebirth of the people of Israel, not just of Ofer, not just of the hostages,’ he said, overcome with emotion.

After holding the hostages for more than 15 months, militants in Gaza began releasing them on January 19 under the terms of the ceasefire deal with Israel.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants have so far handed over 18 hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of them women and minors.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group had said Israel would free 183 prisoners Saturday.

Hamas sources said a fifth hostage-prisoner exchange would take place next Saturday.

During their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which started the Gaza war, militants abducted Siegel from the Kfar Aza kibbutz community, and Bibas and Kalderon from kibbutz Nir Oz.

Militants took a total of 251 people hostage that day. Of those, 76 remain in Gaza, including at least 34 the military says are dead.

Those seized include Bibas’s wife Shiri and their two children, whom Hamas has declared dead, although Israeli officials have not confirmed that.

Bibas’s sons — Kfir, the youngest hostage, whose second birthday was earlier this month, and his older brother Ariel, whose fifth birthday was in August — have become symbols of the hostages’ ordeal.

‘Our Yarden is supposed to return tomorrow and we are so excited but Shiri and the children still haven’t returned,’ the Bibas family said on Instagram Friday, adding it had ‘such mixed emotions’.

Footage released by the Israeli military showed Bibas being reunited with his sister and father, who held him in a lengthy embrace.

Hundreds had gathered in Tel Aviv’s ‘Hostage Square’ to watch the live broadcast of the latest hostage releases.

Sighs of relief ran through the crowd as the three were freed and handed over to the Red Cross, though the mood was mostly sombre.

At Tel Aviv’s Sheba Hospital, Kalderon, a keen mountain biker, was met by a contingent of cyclist friends and other supporters, beaming and blowing kisses as they chanted his name.

‘It’s amazing, amazing! A year-and-a-half is culminating in this moment,’ said Navit Hermesh. ‘We missed him so much, we worried about him so much, and we are so happy that he’s coming back.’

Ahead of both exchanges in Khan Yunis and Gaza City, scores of masked Hamas fighters stood sentry, apparently to control onlookers, and large crowds were mostly absent.

It was a sharp contrast to Thursday’s frenzied exchange, which drew Israeli condemnation and led it to briefly delay the release of Palestinian prisoners.

After Saturday’s hostage release, Gaza’s key Rafah border crossing was reopened, with the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory saying 50 Palestinian patients had gone through the crossing to Egypt.

Egyptian state-linked channel Al-Qahera News showed footage of the first evacuees, including a child with an autoimmune disease, crossing into Egypt to receive treatment.

Muhammad Zaqout, director for Gaza hospitals, said he hoped the number would increase.

‘We now have 6,000 cases ready to be transferred, and more than 12,000 cases that are in dire need of treatment,’ he said.

Rafah was a vital Gaza aid entry point before the Israeli military seized the Palestinian side of the crossing in May.

The fragile ceasefire’s 42-day first phase hinges on the release of a total of 33 hostages in exchange for around 1,900 people, mostly Palestinians, held in Israeli jails.

Negotiations for a second phase of the deal are set to start on Monday, according to a timeline provided by an Israeli official.

The second phase is expected to cover the release of the remaining captives and to include discussions on a more permanent end to the war.

The ceasefire deal was negotiated by mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States.

US president Donald Trump, who has claimed credit for the deal, is expected to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday.​

 

[Saif]

Five Arab FMs reject forced displacement of Palestinians

Top diplomats from Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar rejected any forcible displacement of Palestinians during a meeting in Cairo on Saturday, according to a joint statement.

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Five Arab FMs reject forced displacement of Palestinians
Agence France-Presse . Cairo 01 February, 2025, 22:44

Top diplomats from Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar rejected any forcible displacement of Palestinians during a meeting in Cairo on Saturday, according to a joint statement.

The meeting came after US president Donald Trump floated an idea to relocate Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Egypt and Jordan.

The foreign ministers rejected any ‘infringement of the inalienable rights’ of Palestinians, whether by ‘settlement, expulsion, home demolitions, annexation, depopulation of the land of its people through displacement, encouraged transfer or the uprooting of Palestinians from their land’.

Both Egypt and Jordan — key US allies in the region — have repeatedly rejected Trump’s proposal to ‘clean out’ the Gaza Strip.

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Wednesday that the ‘displacement of the Palestinian people from their land is an injustice that we cannot take part in’.

The foreign ministers added Saturday that they ‘look forward to working with the administration of US President Donald Trump to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, in accordance with the two-state solution’.

The meeting included Arab League secretary general Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary general of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

Two days after Israel severed all ties with the UN’s main aid agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, the ministers also affirmed the ‘pivotal, indispensable and irreplaceable role’ of the agency, ‘categorically rejecting any attempts to bypass it or limit its role’.​

 

[Saif]

Iran warns against ‘ethnic cleansing’ of Palestinians

Iran on Monday condemned US president Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, warning it would amount to ‘ethnic cleansing’.

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Iran warns against ‘ethnic cleansing’ of Palestinians
Agence France-Presse . Tehran, Iran 03 February, 2025, 22:54

Iran on Monday condemned US president Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, warning it would amount to ‘ethnic cleansing’.

Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the international community should help Palestinians ‘secure their right to self-determination... rather than pushing for other ideas that would be tantamount to ethnic cleansing’.

The remarks from Baqaei come after Trump repeatedly floated an idea to ‘clean out’ the Gaza Strip and move its population to Egypt and Jordan.

‘Cleaning out Gaza... is part of colonial erasure of (the) Gaza Strip and the whole Palestine,’ Baqaei said, adding that ‘no third party’ can decide on the future of the Palestinian territory.

Iran, which does not recognise Israel, has made support for the Palestinian cause one of the pillars of its foreign policy since the victory of Islamic Revolution in 1979.

Iran and Israel, enemies for years, saw their first direct exchange of fire during the war in Gaza.

Iran provides financial and military backing for Hamas, but insists it and the other groups Tehran supports act independently.

Iranian vice-president Mohammad Javad Zarif recently said that Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 had ‘undermined’ nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States.​

 

[Saif]

Israel commits to new Gaza ceasefire talks

Israel said it was sending a team to negotiate the next phase in its fragile ceasefire with Hamas, signalling possible progress ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with US President Donald Trump

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Israel commits to new Gaza ceasefire talks
Netanyahu set to meet Trump; gunman kills two soldiers at West Bank checkpoint

Photo: AFP This picture shows a general view of the destruction as displaced Palestinians return to the northern areas of the Gaza Strip, in Jabalia. The phot was taken recently.

Israel said it was sending a team to negotiate the next phase of a fragile ceasefire with Hamas, signalling possible progress ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday.

Netanyahu will be the first foreign leader to meet Trump in the White House since his return to power last month, and will likely face some pressure to honour the ceasefire the US leader has claimed credit for.

Hours before their meeting, Netanyahu's office said Israel would send a delegation to the Qatari capital Doha later this week for negotiations.

Hamas has said it is ready to negotiate the second stage of the ceasefire, mediated by Qatar, the United States and Egypt, and which should focus on a more permanent end to the war.

The first phase, which took effect on January 19, halted more than 15 months of bombardment and fighting that has levelled much of the Gaza Strip.

In line with the agreement, Hamas and Israel have begun exchanging hostages held in Gaza for prisoners held in Israeli jails.

"Israel is preparing for the working-level delegation to leave for Doha at the end of this week in order to discuss technical details related to the continued implementation of the agreement," Netanyahu's office said following meetings with Trump's advisors, including Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

Trump has touted a plan to "clean out" Gaza, calling for Palestinians to move to Egypt or Jordan.

Both countries have flatly rejected his proposal, as have the territory's own residents.

"We are the owners of this land; we have always been here, and will always be. The future is ours," said Majed al-Zebda, a father of six whose house was destroyed in the war.

Before leaving for Washington, Netanyahu said Israel's wars with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and its confrontations with Iran had "redrawn the map" in the Middle East.

"But I believe that working closely with President Trump we can redraw it even further, and for the better," he said.

Trump, who prides himself on his deal-making abilities, will be pushing Netanyahu to stick to the agreement, possibly offering incentives such as a normalisation deal with Saudi Arabia.

Efforts under Trump's predecessor Joe Biden for normalisation froze with the Gaza war, and Saudi Arabia has in recent months hardened its position.

Trump said Sunday that talks with Israel and other Middle Eastern countries were "progressing" -- but warned that he had "no assurances" that the truce in Gaza would hold.

"I have no assurances that it will hold, I mean I've seen people brutalised, nobody's ever seen anything like it, no I have no guarantees that the peace is going to hold," he said.

Witkoff, who met Netanyahu on Monday over terms for the second phase of the truce, said however that he was "certainly hopeful".

Since the truce took effect, Israel has turned its focus to the occupied West Bank, launching a deadly operation in the area around Jenin, a hotbed of Palestinian militancy.

UN aid agency UNRWA, which is now banned in Israel, warned the refugee camp of Jenin was "going into a catastrophic direction".

Today, the Israeli army said a gunman killed two Israeli soldiers in an attack on a military post in Tayasir in the West Bank. The assailant was also killed.

Asked about how he viewed a possible annexation of the West Bank, Trump told reporters: "It's a small country in terms of land."

"It's a pretty small piece of land. And it's amazing that they've been able to do what they've been able to do," he said.

Under the Gaza ceasefire's ongoing 42-day first phase, Hamas was to free 33 hostages in staggered releases in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

Four hostage-prisoner exchanges have already taken place, with militants freeing 18 hostages in exchange for some 600 mostly Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

The truce has also led to a surge of food, fuel, medical and other aid into Gaza, and allowed people displaced by the war to return to their neighbourhoods in the north of the Palestinian territory.

The conflict started on October 07, 2023, with Israel killing at least 47,518 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The UN considers these figures as reliable.​

 

[Saif]

15 freed Palestinian prisoners arrive in Turkey

Fifteen Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel under the terms of the Gaza ceasefire have arrived in Turkey, foreign minister Hakan Fidan said on Tuesday...

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15 freed Palestinian prisoners arrive in Turkey
Agence France-Presse . Istanbul 05 February, 2025, 00:00

A Palestinian man sits in the sun in front of a destroyed building in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on February 4, 2025. | AFP photo

Fifteen Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel under the terms of the Gaza ceasefire have arrived in Turkey, foreign minister Hakan Fidan said on Tuesday.

‘A few days ago, 15 Palestinians came to Turkey via Cairo after they were released,’ he told a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty.

The former detainees were issued visas by the Turkish embassy in Cairo, he said.

The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire saw the release of 33 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in return for the freeing of around 1,900 prisoners, mostly Palestinians, being held in Israeli jails.

Upon their release, many of those prisoners were to be permanently exiled, with Fidan saying in Doha on Sunday that Turkey could take in a number of them.

In 2011, Turkey took in 11 Palestinians who were freed as part of a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas that saw Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit released in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian detainees.

Meanwhile, a gunman attacked an Israeli military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, fatally wounding two soldiers before troops shot him dead, the military said.

The shooting took place in the morning at a military post in Tayasir in the northern part of the West Bank, the military said in a statement.

‘A terrorist fired at the soldiers at a military post in Tayasir,’ it said, adding the troops killed the gunman during a shootout.

Two other soldiers were ‘severely injured’ in the attack, while six were slightly wounded.

Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad praised Tuesday’s ‘heroic’ attack on the checkpoint, saying ‘the resistance will continue until the occupation is defeated’.

Israeli forces have been engaged in what the army says is ‘an operation to thwart terrorism’ in and around the northern city of Jenin, long a hotbed of militancy.

Israeli commander Major General Avi Bluth, who is responsible for the West Bank, said Tuesday’s attack showed the ‘necessity’ of continuing with the offensive in the northern part of the territory.

‘This morning’s engagement with a despicable terrorist who emerged from the northern Samaria region is the demonstration of the necessity of the counterterrorism operation,’ Bluth told journalists when he visited the scene, vowing to ‘neutralise’ militants in the area.

On Sunday, the army said it had killed at least 50 militants since it launched the operation on January 21. The Palestinian health ministry said on Monday that Israeli forces had killed 70 people in the territory since the start of the year.​

 

[Saif]

Hamas says talks start on second phase of Gaza ceasefire deal

Talks have started on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, the spokesperson for the Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Tuesday. The first phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into force on Jan 19 after 15 months of war and involved a halt to fighting, the release of s

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Hamas says talks start on second phase of Gaza ceasefire deal
REUTERS
Published :
Feb 04, 2025 21:24
Updated :
Feb 04, 2025 21:24

A Palestinian man operates heavy machinery to open the road and remove the rubble, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in the southern Gaza Strip, February 4, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Hatem Khaled

Talks have started on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, the spokesperson for the Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Tuesday.

The first phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into force on Jan 19 after 15 months of war and involved a halt to fighting, the release of some of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas and the freeing of some Palestinian prisoners.

Phase two of the three-phase deal is intended to focus on agreements on the release of the remaining hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

"Contacts and negotiation on the second phase have begun," Hamas spokesperson Abdel-Latif Al-Qanoua said, without providing further details.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said earlier on Tuesday that Israel was preparing to send a high-level delegation to the Qatari capital Doha to discuss continued implementation of the deal.

Netanyahu was due to hold talks with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, with the focus likely to be on the ceasefire as well as a possible normalisation of relations with Saudi Arabia.

The initial six-week truce, agreed with Egyptian and Qatari mediators and backed by the US, has remained largely intact but prospects for a durable settlement are unclear.

The war began with the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's military campaign in Gaza since then has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, Palestinian health authorities say.

Hamas and Netanyahu's government, which includes hardliners who opposed the ceasefire deal, say they are committed to reaching an agreement in the second phase although each has criticised the other over its implementation.

Israeli leaders say Hamas cannot remain in Gaza, but the movement has taken every opportunity it could to show the control it still exerts despite the loss of much of its former leadership and thousands of fighters during the war.

Qanoua said Israel had stalled in implementing the humanitarian protocol of the ongoing first phase, hindering the repair of hospitals, roads, water wells and infrastructure destroyed by Israel's 15-month offensive.

Israel did not immediately comment on Qanoua's assertion although Israeli deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show that Hamas had broken a lot of the rules that had been set.

Despite this, she said: "We are hopeful. We want to bring back all of our family members, and we need to make sure that Israel's security can be guarded."​

 

[Saif]

What to expect from Netanyahu’s visit with Trump

The Trump administration is pushing for Israeli hegemony.

www.thedailystar.net

What to expect from Netanyahu’s visit with Trump

Palestinians transport aid supplies on an animal-drawn cart, amid a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, on February 3, 2025. PHOTO: REUTERS

Since Donald Trump returned to the White House for a second term, global, regional and domestic changes have been accelerating at an unprecedented pace. Trump's inaugural speech and his deluge of executive orders exemplify a nationalist rhetoric, which includes barring student visas of those who participated in "pro-Palestinian" protests that shook the country last year. He heralded "a golden age," in his inaugural address, and his policies have put Washington—and the rest of the world—on notice that Trump is determined to turn his campaign promises into reality. His promises come with a liking of openly self-serving agendas. Nowhere is this more evident than in his administration's approach towards the Middle East, which is defined by a complete bias for Israeli expansionism at the expense of Palestinians.

The policy not only disregards Palestinian rights but also strengthens Israeli hegemony, offering illusions through hardline figures such as Massad Boulos and Steve Witkoff. Under Trump's first administration, the US showed no interest in supporting the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, further exacerbating Palestinian suffering and pushing towards the dissolution of the cause. This time, evidently, will be no different. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit and upcoming discussions with Trump raises questions, and mostly concerns, about what lies ahead. The ceasefire is currently in a fragile state, held in the Gaza Strip with the next stage of negotiations expected to enter the second phase that includes a more permanent end to the conflict.

Netanyahu, the first foreign leader to meet Trump at the White House, will undoubtedly try to preserve a dynamic between the nations where absolutely no threats for Netanyahu's position as the Prime Minister of Israel, and ensure there are no checks and balance for his government—given those members are "loyal" to him. It is the same dynamic that resulted in the Abraham Accords. In this context, it is important to remember that Netanyahu's decision in Israel has not been in the interest of the Israeli public, majority of whom do not approve of him. He dragged the war on for political gains, and got rid of anyone who objected to his decisions, in order to serve his personal interests, starting with the opposition duo Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, then Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and finally the chief of staff who was replaced by Netanyahu's most loyal commander.

He closed the gaps that disturbed him and confused his absolute rule under the pretext of achieving absolute victory. When speaking to Trump, Netanyahu's logic that "I am Israel" will inarguably dominate. His expansionist aims will be presented, days after Trump has offered—and been rejected—to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan.

Netanyahu's equation with Trump in his first term doubled Israel's dependency on US financial, armed and political wars, and will remain a constant threat to the Middle East, a region whose map both leaders want to change, and the region where they presume authority to throw around citizens and people across borders.

False promises and intermediary characters

Massad Boulos, a billionaire of Lebanese origin and the father-in-law of Tiffany Trump, played a role in crafting deceptive assurances to the Palestinians, suggesting there was a real opportunity for political relief under the Trump administration. These promises follow a long-standing US pattern of selling illusions to Palestinians, offering grand economic or political solutions without any substantive commitments.

Similarly, Steve Witkoff, US billionaire real estate investor and Trump's Middle East envoy, sought to position himself as a mediator, even reportedly visiting Gaza. However, these gestures will only remain as mere theatrics that fall in line with the administration's broader policies that actively reinforce Israeli occupation, settlement expansion, and annexation projects.

Israeli hegemony as a pillar of US strategy

The US-Israel alliance is deeply rooted in strategic interests, making the idea of an independent Palestinian state fundamentally at odds with Washington's long-term vision of "peace" in the Middle East. Israel serves as the linchpin of US influence in the region, and as such, Trump's policies, including his support for Israeli settlements, the relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem, and the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's unified capital confirm that Washington sees the continuation of Israeli hegemony as a long-term strategic goal.

In the same vein, the Trump administration brokered a truce between Hezbollah and Israel that pushed the deadline for the complete withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces from Lebanon, further extending Israel's military presence in the country. Trump has completely sidelined Jordan from his strategic calculations, seeking to impose an economic blockade to pressure Amman into aligning with his regional agenda, most notably, by forcing Jordan to absorb Palestinians from Gaza. That is a revival of a proposal that Jordan rejected during Trump's first term, which is now being pushed again through economic coercion, including threats to cut aid.

At the same time, US officials such as Ambassador Mike Huckabee and the US ambassador to the UN have openly championed Israel's "biblical right" to the West Bank. Huckabee, a hardline Anglican, refuses to call the Israeli communities in the West Bank "settlements." The US ambassador to the UN has echoed similar sentiments, reflecting the depth of the indoctrinated anti-Palestinian beliefs in US decision-making.

Trump's policies and his supporters

Trump's support for Israel cannot be separated from his electoral base, which largely consists of Zionists and Evangelical Christians. These groups see support for Israel as a religious and ideological duty. For them, the "Greater Land of Israel" is part of their faith. The usage of religion to occupy land, unfairly, played a major role in pushing the Trump administration to adopt policies that serve the entire Israeli occupation project at the expense of Palestinian human rights.

Since assuming office, Trump has lifted sanctions on Israeli settlers, removed bans on bomb shipments to Israel, and endorsed proposals advocating for the forced transfer of Palestinians under the guise of "evacuating areas."

If we look at Trump's policies realistically, it is clear that his administration is interested in pushing for Israeli hegemony,

Trump's transactionalism

Trump approaches international issues, including the Palestinian cause, through the lens of transactionalism. Rather than addressing the political roots of conflicts or seeking justice, he perceives the region as an opportunity for economic profit. His statements referring to Gaza as a "fantastic place" exemplify his reductionist perspective, trivialising the unimaginable suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza for the past year and a half. Similar to Netanyahu, Trump has also reduced the Palestinians' struggle to a mere commercial project and their land to a profit-making machine. These policies, coated in political hypocrisy, only deepen the suffering of the Palestinian people.

Given this stark reality, it is imperative that we Palestinians, and Palestinian supporters around the world, unite according to a clear strategic vision and work to realign internal political and diplomatic priorities to confront the growing challenges. As the ceasefire in Gaza hangs in the air, the Israeli military, for its part, has shifted its focus over the past two weeks to the West Bank, carrying out airstrikes and blowing up 23 buildings in Jenin on Sunday. If Trump and Netanyahu work to foster the problematic US-Israeli equation that has underlined the conflict with Palestine, the Middle East will only plunge into further unrest. The only hope lies in Trump's economic interests with the Arab states and gulf nations overriding his penchant for far-right nationalists like Netanyahu. The coming days will reveal the future of Gaza in the short-term at least, but that itself is the issue: the future of the besieged strip lies in the hands of two men who, above all, care mostly about themselves.

Yousef SY Ramadan is the ambassador of Palestine to Bangladesh.​

 

[Saif]

Trump says US will take over Gaza, create 'Riviera of the Middle East'

He made the stunning proposal to audible gasps during a joint press conference with Netanyahu

www.thedailystar.net

Trump says US will take over Gaza, create 'Riviera of the Middle East'

US President Donald Trump (R) meets with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 4, 2025. Photo: AFP

President Donald Trump revealed a plan on Tuesday for the United States to take over the Gaza Strip, resettle Palestinians in other countries -- seemingly whether they wanted to leave or not -- and turn the territory into "the Riviera of the Middle East."

Trump made the stunning proposal to audible gasps during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he was hosting at the White House for talks.

In a scheme that lacked details on how he would move out more than two million Palestinians or control Gaza, Trump said he would make the war-battered enclave "unbelievable" by removing unexploded bombs and rubble and economically redeveloping it.

"The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We'll own it," Trump said.

He said there was support from the "highest leadership" in the Middle East and upped pressure on Egypt and Jordan to take displaced Gazans -- despite both countries and the Palestinians flatly rejecting the surprise idea.

Suggesting "long-term ownership" by the United States, Trump said his plan for Gaza would make it "the Riviera of the Middle East. This could be something that could be so magnificent."

Key US ally Netanyahu said Trump's plan could "change history" and was worth "paying attention to."

Netanyahu was making the first visit of a foreign leader to the White House since Trump's return to power, for what were billed as talks on securing a second phase of the Israel-Hamas truce after an initial six-week ceasefire.

'Miserable existence'

But it quickly turned into the shock revelation of a plan that would completely transform the face of the Middle East.

Trump, who also floated traveling to Gaza, appeared to suggest it would not be rebuilt for Palestinians.

"It should not go through a process of rebuilding and occupation by the same people that have... lived there and died there and lived a miserable existence there," he said.

The Palestinian envoy to the UN had pushed back strongly at Trump's suggestions earlier Tuesday -- before his proposal the United States take the territory over -- for his people to be resettled.

"Our homeland is our homeland," said Riyad Mansour.

"And I think that leaders and people should respect the wishes of the Palestinian people."

Gazans have also denounced Trump's resettlement idea. "Trump thinks Gaza is a pile of garbage -- absolutely not," said 34-year-old Hatem Azzam, a resident of the southern city of Rafah.

Trump was vague on the details of how he would execute the takeover plan, but hinted that it could require US boots on the ground in one of the most volatile places on earth "if necessary."

It is not the first time the former property tycoon has spoken about the Palestinian territory in terms of real estate, saying in October it could be "better than Monaco."

Standing at a podium beside Trump, Netanyahu hailed Trump as Israel's "greatest friend" and praised his "willingness to think outside the box."

The two have had tense relations in the past, but Netanyahu has seized on the Republican's return to power after his ties with former president Joe Biden became increasingly strained over the death toll in Gaza since Israel's invasion.

'Winning the war'

The Israeli leader would not rule out a return to hostilities with Hamas, or with its other foes in the region including Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iran.

"We will end the war by winning the war," Netanyahu insisted, while also vowing to secure the return of all hostages held by Hamas.

He did voice confidence that a deal with regional rival Saudi Arabia to normalize relations was "going to happen."

But after Trump aired his proposal, Saudi Arabia said it would not formalize ties with Israel unless a Palestinian state is established.

Trump's grand Gaza plan however is set to face harsh opposition from Palestinians and Middle Eastern countries.

Egypt, Jordan and ceasefire mediator Qatar have all flatly rejected Trump's suggestion of moving Palestinians from Gaza.

The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, taking into Gaza 251 hostages, 76 of whom are still held in the Palestinian territory including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Hamas's attack resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people on Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Israel's retaliatory response has killed at least 47,518 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The UN considers these figures as reliable.

The truce that took effect on January 18 has led to a surge of food, fuel, medical and other aid into Gaza, and allowed people displaced by the war to return to the north of the Palestinian territory.

But since the Gaza ceasefire took effect, Israel has launched a deadly operation against militants in the occupied West Bank's north.​

 

[Saif]

Hamas rejects Trump proposal to take over Gaza

Palestinian militant group Hamas lashed out Wednesday at president Donald Trump’s shock proposal for the United States to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle its people in other countries, seemingly whether they want to leave or not...

www.newagebd.net

Hamas rejects Trump proposal to take over Gaza
Agence France-Presse . Gaza 06 February, 2025, 00:13

A man rides a donkey-pulled cart past the rubble of destroyed buildings at Saftawi street in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday during a ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. | AFP photo

Palestinian militant group Hamas lashed out Wednesday at president Donald Trump’s shock proposal for the United States to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle its people in other countries, seemingly whether they want to leave or not.

Trump made his announcement to audible gasps during a joint press conference with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he was hosting at the White House for talks.

In a proposal that lacked details on how he would move out more than two million Palestinians or control Gaza, Trump said he would make the war-battered enclave ‘unbelievable’ by removing unexploded bombs and rubble, and economically redeveloping it.

‘The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it,’ Trump said.

He said there was support from the ‘highest leadership’ in the Middle East and upped pressure on Egypt and Jordan to take the Gazans — despite both governments flatly rejecting the idea.

Suggesting ‘long-term ownership’ by the United States, Trump said his idea would make it ‘the Riviera of the Middle East. This could be something that could be so magnificent.’

Hamas, which seized sole control of Gaza in 2007, rejected the proposal, branding it a’ racist’ idea.

‘The American racist stance aligns with the Israeli extreme right’s position in displacing our people and eliminating our cause,’ Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanou said in a statement.

Much of Gaza was levelled in a 15-month war triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, and Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for sealing a ceasefire agreement that took effect last month.

Netanyahu, who has vowed to bring home hostages taken by Hamas and to crush its capabilities, said Trump’s plan could ‘change history’ and was worth ‘paying attention to’.

Netanyahu was making the first visit by a foreign leader to the White House since Trump’s return to power, for what were billed as talks on securing a second phase of the truce.

But it quickly turned into the shock revelation of a proposal that would, if implemented, completely transform the face of the Middle East.

Trump, who also floated travelling to Gaza, appeared to suggest it would not be rebuilt for Palestinians.

‘It should not go through a process of rebuilding and occupation by the same people that have... lived there and died there and lived a miserable existence there,’ he said.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas also rejected the proposal.

‘President Mahmud Abbas and the Palestinian leadership expressed their strong rejection of calls to seize the Gaza Strip and displace Palestinians outside their homeland,’ Abbas’s office said in a statement, adding that ‘legitimate Palestinian rights are not negotiable’.

Palestinians in Gaza have also denounced Trump’s resettlement idea.

‘Trump thinks Gaza is a pile of garbage — absolutely not,’ said 34-year-old Hatem Azzam, a resident of the southern city of Rafah.

For Palestinians, any attempts to force them out of Gaza would evoke dark memories of what the Arab world calls the ‘Nakba’, or catastrophe — the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel’s creation in 1948.

Trump was vague on the details of how he would execute a takeover, but hinted that it could require US boots on the ground in one of the most volatile places on earth ‘if necessary.’

Standing at a podium beside Trump, Netanyahu hailed Trump as Israel’s ‘greatest friend’ and praised his ‘willingness to think outside the box’.

The two have had tense relations in the past, but Netanyahu has seized on the Republican’s return to power after his ties with former president Joe Biden became strained over the death toll in Gaza.

The Israeli premier would not rule out a return to hostilities with Hamas, or with its other foes in the region including Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran.

‘We will end the war by winning the war,’ Netanyahu said, while vowing to secure the return of all hostages held by Hamas.

He did voice confidence that a deal with regional rival Saudi Arabia to normalise relations was ‘going to happen’.

But after Trump aired his proposal, Saudi Arabia said it would not formalise ties with Israel unless a Palestinian state is established.

Trump’s Gaza proposal is set to face harsh opposition.

Egypt, Jordan and ceasefire mediator Qatar have all rejected Trump’s suggestion of moving Palestinians from Gaza.

Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan said relocating Palestinians was something ‘neither we nor the region can accept’.

China too hit out at the proposal, with its foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian saying: ‘China has always maintained that Palestinian rule over Palestinians is the basic principle of the post-war governance of Gaza, and we are opposed to the forced transfer of the residents of Gaza.’

The Gaza war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory response has killed at least 47,518 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.​

 

[Saif]

Can Trump actually 'take over' Gaza?

International laws can't and won't stop him. So then, what can?

www.thedailystar.net

Can Trump actually 'take over' Gaza?

US President Donald Trump welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the entrance of the White House in Washington DC, on February 4, 2025. PHOTO: REUTERS

Standing beside Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in front of the press in the White House, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, "We will take over Gaza. We will own it." He went on to say that Gaza could become "the Riviera of the Middle East," where the "world's people" would live. His statement aligns with that of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who told an audience at Harvard University last year that Israel should remove civilians while it "cleans up" the Gaza Strip, and that Gaza had very valuable "waterfront property."

Trump's announcement sent shockwaves through the world, including staunch Israeli allies such as Germany. Human rights organisations immediately denounced the proposal as ethnic cleansing of the residents of Gaza, the Palestinians, to neighbouring countries—a plan that was rejected by Jordan and Egypt earlier. Many Democrats, who backed Joe Biden's 15 months of financing the mass murder of approximately 61,000 Palestinians in Gaza, found Trump's plan "insane," and extremely immoral. But, of course, it's morally bankrupt and that's besides the point. To understand Donald Trump's intentions, the man who wrote the book Trump: The Art of the Deal, humanitarian values should be put aside. He views geopolitical relationships and foreign policy as real estate business deals, and realising that can take us closer to understanding whether he actually meant what he said and whether he can, or will, do it.

It's easy to dismiss Trump's remarks as unsurprising White colonisation. It is true that the plan shows a sharp departure from long-standing US policy of symbolic "two-state solution." But it must be noted that we are here today because of decades of double standards of that very US policy in the first place, which unconditionally backed Israeli occupation in Palestinian territories and still talked about "two states" and "peace." Sure, Biden had not suggested a plan so aggressive, but his administration had gone around trying to find an "international coalition" that would temporarily govern Gaza after the war. The fact is, US foreign policy has never intentionally recognised Nakba as a root cause of Palestinian resentment towards Israel, and no government has truly cared about Palestinians' rights to self-determination. US national and geopolitical interests in the Middle East simply lie with strong-arming Israel. One could argue that Trump has replaced "Israel" with "United States" in terms of who will own and govern Palestinian land and Palestinian people.

International law, so to speak, has not really been a force to stop any atrocities in Gaza so far. Israel has openly committed crimes against humanity, and Netanyahu stood in the press conference with the US president despite an arrest warrant against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The US government's invasion of Afghanistan, for example—on the premise of self-defence—did kill innocent civilians, despite claims that it was only targeting terrorists and enemy combatants. The US has ratified both The Hague and Geneva conventions that render unjustified killing of innocent civilians or unnecessary destruction of property as a violation of international law (however, they don't constitute war crimes). Though the country ratified both conventions, it repeatedly violated them in Afghanistan. The US government denied many instances of civilian suffering until The New York Times published declassified records. Despite the documentation, none of the US military officials involved in strikes were held accountable. Only the victims paid the price for the US military's "mistake." We have seen Netanyahu use the phrase "tragic mistake" to refer to the deadly fire in refugee tents in Rafah last year, after images of charcoaled bodies and a beheaded child went viral.

As history is laden with unaccountability, it should be clear that laws will not stop Trump's plan. So then, what can? Geopolitical relationships with the Arab states, and especially, Saudi Arabia, the most powerful US ally in the region.

In 2020, Trump managed to persuade UAE and Bahrain to sign his Abraham Accords. UAE's reservation to signing the deal was Palestinian statehood and the condition was suspension of Israeli settlers' plans to annex the West Bank. Trump hit the middle ground between the Israeli far-right and UAE to score the deal. Trump's transactionalism embedded in his foreign policy that predates his outlandish statements presents a few questions: is the plan a calculated move to tame both Hamas and Israeli far-right? Or is it a negotiating tactic with the Arab states, particularly Saudi Arabia? Both are plausible.

For Hamas, Trump's plan applies maximum pressure to give up the control of Gaza and simply maintain a presence there. The flip side of Trump's pressure could be Hamas pulling out of the ceasefire agreement, which jeopardises the Israeli hostages returning, and the second phase of the ceasefire which includes a permanent end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops. The latter holds little meaning now as Trump suggests Palestinians should leave their homeland anyways. Hamas, which has been destabilised, might settle for maintaining some sort of presence of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, as it would not be able to endure against US troops. On the other hand, far-right extremist Israelis—specifically those who were unhappy with Netanyahu and threatened to collapse his coalition for the ceasefire deal—positively reacted to Trump's plan. An expulsion of 2.5 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip has been a fantasy of the Israeli far-right, and Netanyahu has faced criticism for not having a "day after Gaza" plan. When Trump made the announcement, Netanyahu seemed incredibly delighted that Trump's idea could reset his own difficult choices in Israel.

Worldwide uproar followed Trump's statement, and Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry was the first to react to the announcement. They affirmed that the nation's position on the establishment of a Palestinian state is "non-negotiable," firm and unwavering with "no compromise," which could presumably refer to the UAE normalisation deal. The statement added that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman "clearly and unequivocally reaffirmed this stance."

For the past 15 months of Palestinian slaughter in Gaza, many of the Arab states have been on the sideline, with Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia clamping down on pro-Palestinian protests in their own nations. All these nations have authoritarian governments who view grassroots activism as a threat to their regimes. "Arab states today do not like Palestinian nationalism because Palestinian nationalism is a source of popular mobilisation on the Arab street," according to Nader Hashemi, director of the Prince Alwaleed Center for Christian-Muslim Understanding at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. But in order to keep pro-Palestinian sentiments under control, Arab states have catered to public opinion with token gestures to support Palestine against Israel and succumbing to Trump's plan would fuel public anger.

On the geopolitical front, relations with the US have been a source of security aid and financial assistance for some Arab states, and have prevented them from confronting Israel. For Mohammed bin Salman, eliminating Hamas and Hezbollah, who do not exist in Saudi Arabia, has been in his best interest against archrival Iran to maintain his nation's dominance in the Middle East, and to ensure no politicisation of Islam can topple him in his country. Normalising relationships with Israel, too, is in his interest as it's good for business—an ideology he shares with Trump. Mohammed bin Salman wants deals with the US for security and weapons, and Trump has already talked about asking Saudi Arabia to invest $1 trillion in the US economy and lower oil prices. Here, Trump's Gaza plan puts a spanner in the works. Mohammed bin Salman would be careful so as to not anger his citizens by supporting Trump's plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza. Making compromises could risk his position domestically, while losing deals with the US would not serve him geopolitically.

Egypt, on the other hand, needs US money to exist, and also serves as a lynchpin containing a potential powder keg of radical sentiment that, if detonated, would puncture European and US interests. Jordan, as well, is not only a close ally of the US, but dependent on US aid. Trump has already threatened economic blockades for Jordan, and King Abdullah is scheduled to visit the White House next week. But Egypt and Jordan can avert an economic blow if the wealthy Gulf nations unite against Trump's Gaza plan. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has indicated that Jordan can change its position and accept Palestinian refugees from Gaza.

Whether Trump can coerce Arab States to get what he wants remains to be seen. The US president made the statement with the prime minister of Israel beside him, and to analyse it with a reactionary perspective such as the "madman" theory, as David Remnick of the New Yorker has done, only circulates blame games at those who voted for Trump, believing his campaign promise that the US would end all foreign wars, especially in Gaza. Trump has intentions in saying what he said, and determining what they are is difficult; he is the harbinger of potent unpredictability.

The Trump administration has made it clear that the "Riviera of the Middle East" would not be made with US funds, supposedly expecting Arab states to foot the bill. Trump's proposal to play around with the lives of Palestinians could very well be a far-reaching offer on the table in exchange for normalisation, or Gaza's reconstruction funded by wealthy Gulf nations. If we think of it as a deal, it also means that he could soften his position, and settle for less. He could very well not move forward if Arab states offer concessions acceptable to his geo-economic agendas. Donald Trump does not always follow through. But whether he does usually depends on short-term gains that portray him as the winner and the strongman who is "reviving America" as the sole superpower—in other words, making America great again.

Ramisa Rob is in-charge of Geopolitical Insights at The Daily Star.​

 

[Saif]

Israel orders army to plan to let Palestinians leave Gaza

Israel’s defence minister ordered the army on Thursday to prepare for ‘voluntary’ departures from Gaza, after US president Donald Trump proposed moving Palestinians out of the territory.

www.newagebd.net

Israel orders army to plan to let Palestinians leave Gaza
Agence France-Presse . Jerusalem 07 February, 2025, 00:47

Israel’s defence minister ordered the army on Thursday to prepare for ‘voluntary’ departures from Gaza, after US president Donald Trump proposed moving Palestinians out of the territory.

The idea sparked uproar from leaders in the Middle East and beyond. On Wednesday, the Trump administration appeared to walk back some of the suggestions.

Hours later, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the military to formulate a plan for Palestinians to leave Gaza, which has been ravaged by more than a year of war.

‘I have instructed the IDF (military) to prepare a plan to enable voluntary departure for Gaza residents,’ Katz said, adding they could go ‘to any country willing to accept them’.

Trump announced his proposal to audible gasps on Tuesday at a joint press conference with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the first foreign leader to meet him at the White House since his inauguration.

The United Nations warned any forced displacement of Palestinians would be ‘tantamount to ethnic cleansing’.

Trump insisted ‘everybody loves’ the plan, saying it would involve the United States taking over Gaza, though he offered few details on how more than two million Palestinians would be removed.

His administration later appeared to backtrack, with secretary of state Marco Rubio saying any transfer of Gazans would be temporary, while the White House denied any commitment to sending US troops.

The US president doubled down on his proposal on Thursday, saying no US soldiers would be needed in Gaza as part of the plan.

‘No soldiers by the US would be needed! Stability for the region would reign!!!’ he said in on his Truth Social platform.

Netanyahu hailed Trump as Israel’s ‘greatest friend’ and, speaking to Fox News on Wednesday, called the proposal ‘remarkable’.

‘I think it should be really pursued, examined, pursued and done, because I think it will create a different future for everyone.’

He suggested Palestinians would not necessarily leave permanently.

‘They can leave, they can then come back, they can relocate and come back, but you have to rebuild Gaza.’

Katz said Trump’s plan ‘could create broad opportunities for Gaza residents who wish to leave, help them integrate optimally in host countries, and also facilitate the advancement of reconstruction programs for a demilitarised, threat-free Gaza’.

Far-right Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich — who has repeatedly expressed support for Trump’s proposal to relocate Gazans, and who vowed Wednesday to ‘definitively bury’ the idea of a Palestinian state — said he welcomed Katz’s move.

Much of the Gaza Strip has been levelled by the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the deadliest in the country’s history, but Palestinians residing in the coastal territory have vowed not to leave.

For them, any attempt to push them out of Gaza recalls the ‘Nakba’, or ‘catastrophe’ — the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel’s creation in 1948.

‘They can do whatever they want, but we will remain steadfast in our homeland,’ said 41-year-old Gazan Ahmed Halasa.

Israelis in Jerusalem largely welcomed Trump’s proposal, though some doubted it could be carried out.

‘I really like what he said, but in my wildest dreams it’s hard for me to believe it will happen, but who knows,’ said 65-year-old Refael.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump wanted Palestinians to only be ‘temporarily relocated’ out of Gaza.

‘It’s not a liveable place for any human being,’ she said.

Trump, who also suggested he might visit Gaza, appeared to imply it would not be rebuilt for Palestinians.

Even before Tuesday’s announcements, Trump had suggested residents of Gaza should move to Egypt and Jordan, both of which have flatly rejected any resettlement of Palestinians on their territory.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas rejected the proposal, calling it a ‘serious violation’ of international law and insisting that ‘legitimate Palestinian rights are not negotiable’.

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres emphasised ‘the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to simply live as human beings in their own land’.

His spokesman Stephane Dujarric, when asked about Trump’s plan, said: ‘Any forced displacement of people is tantamount to ethnic cleansing.’

Hamas, which took sole control of Gaza in 2007, rejected the proposal, branding it ‘racist’ and ‘aggressive’.

Israel’s military offensive in response to Hamas’s attack has left much of Gaza in ruins, including schools, hospitals and most civil infrastructure.

Human Rights Watch said the destruction of Gaza ‘reflects a calculated Israeli policy to make parts of the strip unliveable’.

Trump’s plan ‘would move the US from being complicit in war crimes to direct perpetration of atrocities’, said Lama Fakih, an HRW regional director.

In a bid to address the dire humanitarian situation, aid has been rushed into the territory since a fragile ceasefire took effect on January 19.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said Thursday that more than 10,000 aid trucks had crossed into Gaza since the truce went into effect, calling it ‘a massive surge’.​

 

[Saif]

Trump says Israel would hand over Gaza after fighting, no US troops needed

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Israel would hand over Gaza to the United States after fighting was over and the enclave’s population was already resettled elsewhere, which he said meant no US troops would be needed on the ground. A day after worldwide condemnation of Trump&r

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Trump says Israel would hand over Gaza after fighting, no US troops needed
REUTERS
Published :
Feb 06, 2025 20:02
Updated :
Feb 06, 2025 20:02

Palestinians make their way along a road on a rainy day, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City February 6, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Israel would hand over Gaza to the United States after fighting was over and the enclave’s population was already resettled elsewhere, which he said meant no US troops would be needed on the ground.

A day after worldwide condemnation of Trump’s announcement that he aimed to take over and develop the Gaza Strip into the “Riviera of the Middle East”, Israel ordered its army to prepare to allow the “voluntary departure” of Gaza’s residents.

Trump, who had previously declined to rule out deploying US troops to Gaza, clarified his plans in comments on his Truth Social web platform.

“The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting,” he said. Palestinians “would have already been resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities, with new and modern homes, in the region.”

“No soldiers by the US” would be needed!” he said.

Earlier Israel’s Defence Minister said he had ordered the army to prepare a plan to allow residents who wished to leave to exit Gaza voluntarily.

“I welcome President Trump’s bold plan, Gaza residents should be allowed the freedom to leave and emigrate, as is the norm around the world,” Katz said on X.

Katz said his plan would include exit options via land crossings, as well as special arrangements for departure by sea and air.

Trump’s unexpected announcement on Wednesday, which has sparked anger around the Middle East, came as Israel and Hamas were expected to begin talks on the second round of a fragile ceasefire plan to end almost 16 months of fighting in Gaza.

Regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia rejected the proposal outright and Jordan’s King Abdullah, who will meet Trump at the White House next week, said on Wednesday he rejected any attempts to annex land and displace Palestinians.

Hamas official Basem Naim accused Katz of trying to cover up “for a state that has failed to achieve any of its objectives in the war on Gaza”, and said Palestinians are too attached to their land to ever leave.

Displacement of Palestinians has been one of the most sensitive issues in the Middle East for decades. Forced or coerced displacement of a population under military occupation is a war crime, banned under the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

Israeli strikes which killed tens of thousands of people over the past 16 months have forced Palestinians to repeatedly move around within Gaza, seeking safety.

But many say they will never leave the enclave because they fear permanent displacement, like the “Nakba”, or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands were dispossessed from homes in the war at the birth of the state of Israel in 1948.

Katz said countries who have opposed Israel’s military operations in Gaza should take in the Palestinians.

“Countries like Spain, Ireland, Norway, and others, which have levelled accusations and false claims against Israel over its actions in Gaza, are legally obligated to allow any Gaza resident to enter their territories,” he said.​