The American website "Axios" said that US President Donald Trump's envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkow, will meet with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani today, Saturday, in Spain to discuss a plan to end the war on Gaza and release the Israeli soldiers held captive by Hamas.
The meeting comes in the wake of the Israeli occupation government's announcement of its intention to fully occupy the Gaza Strip, through a plan approved by the Security Council on Thursday night, Friday, which faced widespread international opposition and sharp criticism.
The Associated Press reported, on Friday, that Arab officials said that the Qatari and Egyptian mediators are preparing a new draft agreement on Gaza that would include the release of all Israeli soldiers held captive by Hamas, living and dead, in exchange for ending the war and the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces from the Gaza Strip.
"Associated Press": Qatar and Egypt are working on a new draft agreement on Gaza
The two officials, whose names and capacities were not revealed by the agency, added that efforts to reach a new ceasefire agreement are supported by major Gulf countries, noting that one of the officials is directly involved in the negotiations, while the second received a briefing on the efforts being made, according to the "Associated Press." Both officials also spoke about the Gulf countries' concerns about the threat to the region's stability in the event that Israel re-occupies the Gaza Strip.
The "Associated Press" stated, in the report it published in its English version, that work is still underway on the new framework, and that it aims to address the contentious issue, especially the "Hamas" weapon, which the movement adheres to, while the occupation insists on disarming it. The same agency quoted the official directly involved in the efforts to reach an agreement as saying that the talks are about "freezing the weapon," explaining that this may mean keeping Hamas with the weapons it possesses and refraining from using them. It also reported that the new framework calls on the movement to "relinquish power in the sector."
(Reuters, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed)
שתף את דעתך
"Axios": Witkow meets with the Prime Minister of Qatar in Spain to discuss ending the Gaza war