Netanyahu's Tense Meeting with Peace Council Chief: "We Will Not Retreat from Current Line in Gaza"

Just a few days after the Peace Council for Gaza announced that an agreement had been reached on a gradual process for disarming terrorist organizations and militias and for a full Israeli withdrawal from the Strip, a "political source" contradicted the commitment. The source stated: "Israel will not retreat from the current line in the Gaza Strip and will continue to thwart any threat to our citizens and soldiers."

Against this backdrop, sources in the Peace Council described that the high representative for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Israel to stop strikes and targeted killings for 14 days to agree on "small details." The document, published on Friday, outlines a schedule to transfer all civil and security powers to the "National Committee for the Administration of Gaza" (NCAG) within 14 days of approval.

The "political source's" statement was a response to cabinet members Bezalel Smotrich and Orit Struck, who demanded the Prime Minister stop the entry of international stabilization forces into Gaza. They argue that the conditions in the "roadmap" were not those agreed upon in the cabinet vote. Netanyahu has yet to respond.

In their letter, the ministers claimed the decision was made based on incorrect information, calling the document "dangerous for Israel" and contradictory to the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of Gaza. They demanded an immediate Security-Political Cabinet meeting to halt the plan, citing several gaps:

1. The roadmap does not mandate the removal or destruction of weaponry.

2. It establishes a mechanism for Israeli withdrawal parallel to demilitarization.

3. The law applied in the Strip will be that of the Palestinian Authority.

4. Stabilization forces will separate the IDF from the NCAG rather than acting against terrorist elements.

5. The composition of the international mechanism was never presented to the cabinet.

6. The document does not condition the rehabilitation of the Strip on the completion of demilitarization.

7. The roadmap openly sets the establishment of a Palestinian state as a political goal.

The ministers maintain the official document differs fundamentally from the outline presented during discussions. Opposition Leader Yair Lapid criticized the ministers: "You claim the cabinet was provided with incorrect information. Since this is a political matter closed with the Americans, can you specify who provided it? Cabinet ministers cannot level such a serious accusation without naming names."