The “Israel Hayom” website revealed on Tuesday an Israeli-American agreement granting Hamas a final deadline of two months to dismantle its weapons, noting that clear criteria will be set for the actual dismantling of the movement’s weapons.
In contrast, Israeli Channel 12 stated that the start of reconstruction in Rafah will precede the disarmament of Hamas.
US President Donald Trump stated on Monday that “hell awaits” Hamas if it does not give up its weapons soon.
The Gaza Strip has been witnessing a fragile ceasefire since October 10, following an agreement between Israel and Hamas on a 20-point roadmap supported by Washington, aimed at ending the fighting that has been ongoing for more than two years.
However, the implementation of the second phase of the plan, which aims to strip Hamas of its weapons and deploy an international stabilization force, appears more difficult, as Hamas has so far rejected all demands to disarm.
In a joint press conference held at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, following his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump affirmed that the United States does not seek to escalate the conflict.
He added: “We talked about Hamas and we talked about disarming, and they will be given a very short period of time to disarm, and we will see how things go.”
He continued: “If they don’t disarm as they agreed to, there will be hell waiting for them. We don’t want that and we are not seeking it, but they have to disarm within a fairly short period of time.”
Trump warned that non-compliance would be “devastating” for Hamas, adding that other countries “will intervene and crush it” if the movement fails to lay down its weapons.
Trump also asked Netanyahu to refrain from provocative actions in the West Bank, according to Axios, citing sources.
According to the site, the US President and his aides expressed concern about the situation in the West Bank and asked Netanyahu to avoid provocative actions and work to calm the situation.
Trump and his team also pointed to issues of Israeli settler violence against Palestinian residents, “the financial instability of the Palestinian National Authority, and the expansion of Israeli settlements.”
Axios clarified that the United States believes that changing the approach in the West Bank is necessary to restore Israel’s relations with European countries, and perhaps to expand the “Abraham Accords.”
The site quoted a US official as saying that “an escalation in the West Bank will undermine efforts to implement the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.”
