Nikolay Mladenov is expected to discuss with Benjamin Netanyahu whether parts of Donald Trump’s Gaza plan can move forward without Hamas agreeing to disarm. [Getty]
The executive director of the Board of Peace for Gaza, Nikolay Mladenov, is expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv as discussions continue over whether US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan could move forward without Hamas agreeing to disarm.
According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the meeting would be the second between the two men in two weeks and comes amid a deadlock in negotiations between the Board of Peace and Hamas over the group’s weapons.
The report, published on Wednesday, cited an unnamed source familiar with the talks as saying the Board of Peace was awaiting Hamas’s response to a revised proposal submitted in recent weeks that attempted to address some of the movement’s concerns.
The source said that if Hamas did not provide a positive response soon, negotiations in Cairo would not resume.
Another source cited by the newspaper claimed that the Board of Peace and mediators had concluded Hamas was stalling, and were therefore preparing to advance Trump’s proposed “20-point plan” in line with Clause 17.
Under that clause, if Hamas delays or rejects the proposal, the earlier stages of the plan would still be implemented, including expanding humanitarian aid in what the plan describes as “terror-free zones” transferred from Israeli military control to an international stabilisation force.
According to the first source, Mladenov’s visit is intended to discuss what steps Israel would take if Hamas formally rejects the Board of Peace proposal, including the possibility of moving ahead with the plan without Hamas agreeing to disarmament.
Under the 20-point plan, governance of Gaza would be handed to a Palestinian technocratic committee. However, Israel has not yet approved entry permits for members of the committee to enter Gaza.
Haaretz reported that the committee began recruiting a new police force in February to maintain order in the territory, but the recruits have not been allowed to leave Gaza for training in Egypt or Jordan.
The report added that Clause 17 would also require Israel to withdraw from areas handed over to the international stabilisation force even without Hamas disarming, a move expected to face strong opposition from Israel.
Michael Eisenberg, Netanyahu’s adviser on Gaza affairs, referred to the clause in an interview with Fox News earlier this week. However, contrary to the text of the plan, he claimed the Board of Peace could “enter and begin taking control of areas in Gaza and disarming Hamas by force if necessary”.
He added that it remained unclear whether the international stabilisation force or the Israeli military would carry out the disarmament.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee made similar remarks during a conference at Tel Aviv University on Tuesday, expressing doubt that any actor other than Israel would be willing or able to disarm Hamas.
Huckabee also said he hoped that if Israel intensified its military campaign in Gaza, the international community would not condemn it.
Last week, Mladenov himself acknowledged the possibility that Hamas could reject the disarmament proposal during an interview with Israeli channel i24NEWS.
“Ultimately, reconstruction in Gaza will not begin without depositing weapons,” the Board of Peace official said.
He added that the process would need to happen “in a way acceptable to all parties, including armed groups in Gaza, or in a way that guarantees peace and security for civilians in Gaza and Israel”.
However, he warned it would “take a little longer”.
