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Israel to begin negotiations on second phase of Gaza ceasefire deal – Israel News
Israel will begin negotiations on the second phase of the hostage-ceasefire deal, including an exchange of Israeli hostages with Palestinian prisoners, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on Tuesday, adding that Israel demanded a complete demilitarization of the enclave.
Negotiations for the second phase of the deal were supposed to start on February 2, but Qatar, who, together with Egypt and the United States, is mediating between the sides, said the talks have not officially started yet.
“It will happen this week,” Sa’ar told a press conference in Jerusalem.
“We will not accept the continued presence of Hamas or any other terrorist organization in Gaza,” Sa’ar said.
Prolonging the first phase of the deal
But he added that if the negotiations are constructive, Israel will remain engaged and may prolong the first phase of the ceasefire, which is meant to last six weeks.
“If we will see there is a constructive dialogue with a possible horizon of getting to an agreement (then) we will make this time-frame work longer,” Sa’ar said.
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