Jerusalem, Aug 17 (IANS) The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office on Monday announced that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Board of Peace have agreed to establish working groups on disarmament and demilitarisation of Gaza.
“The Prime Minister and Board of Peace had deep and constructive discussions. It was agreed to establish two working groups, one on disarmament and demilitarisation of Gaza, which both Israel and the Board of Peace are determined should be prompt and completed before any reconstruction happens in Gaza. A second working group will focus on sanitation, clean water and other public health issues for the people of Gaza and which also impact the people of Israel,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s office stated on X.
On August 5, Netanyahu said that the country will not withdraw its forces from their current positions in Gaza until Hamas is fully disarmed.
“We are instructing IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers to do whatever is necessary to protect themselves, our territory and our citizens,” Netanyahu said in a video released on social media.
Regarding the deal, US President Donald Trump said the so-called “Board of Peace” had reached for the “complete disarmament” of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza. Netanyahu said that the White House “sent us a draft,” but “we did not agree to it.”
“It is not our draft. We sent our comments,” he said.
Earlier, Hamas agreed to relinquish both its civilian and military role in governing Gaza under a new internationally backed roadmap that would hand control of the territory to a transitional Palestinian administration as part of a phased peace process, according to senior administration officials.
The proposal, announced by Trump as part of his Gaza peace initiative, goes beyond a ceasefire by outlining a detailed plan to dismantle Hamas’s governing structure. Instead, a National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, an independent Palestinian body, would oversee both civilian administration and internal security during a transitional period.
Senior administration officials said the roadmap represents the first time Hamas has agreed to accept an international framework that requires it to surrender its governing role while allowing a new Palestinian authority to assume responsibility for administering Gaza.
–IANS
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