World
Netanyahu hardens Israel's position as the Gaza plan remains stalled
Weeks before elections in Israel, the government is maintaining operations on several fronts and conditioning any withdrawal from Gaza on Hamas's total disarmament. ABC España and The Times of Israel also describe obstacles for the international police force planned for the postwar period.
The peace plan promoted by Donald Trump for Gaza remains formally in place, but several of its central points are still not being implemented. According to ABC España, the main blockage lies in Hamas’s handover of weapons and in the withdrawal of the Israeli Army from the Strip.
That outlet notes that Hamas agreed on July 30 to a symbolic handover of arms to the Peace Board, the body intended to govern Gaza on a transitional basis, although that gesture has still not materialized. Meanwhile, the government of Benjamin Netanyahu maintains that Israeli troops will not pull back until the organization hands over “all the weapons.” ABC España adds that Israel currently occupies more than 60 percent of Gaza’s territory.
In that context, the report describes a scenario of almost daily operations in Gaza, military actions in southern Lebanon against Hizbolá and frequent clashes in Cisjordania between Israeli settlers and Arabs. According to ABC España, that hard-line approach is intensifying as the general elections of October 27 approach, in which Netanyahu is seeking another term.
The article also links that strategy to the parliamentary backing the prime minister receives from ultranationalist and religious sectors, and to a growing fracture within Israeli society between those who support a hard line and those who believe it is necessary to open negotiations with the Palestinians.
On the international front, ABC España says the relationship with the United States remains strategic under the presidency of Donald Trump, despite rhetorical questions about the severity of the campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon. By contrast, it says the relationship with the United Kingdom is going through a particularly delicate moment because of a partial embargo linked to the situation in Cisjordania, joined by 11 other countries, including France, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Portugal, Ireland and Spain.
Regarding the international police force planned for the postwar period, an anonymous source cited by The Times of Israel, and picked up by ABC España, said Israel prevented Gaza candidates from traveling to Egypt for training. According to that account, the Israeli argument is that they must remain in the Strip while waiting for Hamas to hand over its weapons.
The same source indicated, according to The Times of Israel, that Uganda offered 1,200 police officers for the future International Stabilization Force and Burundi another 500. It also mentioned planned contributions from Morocco, Kosovo, Albania and Kazakhstan. Meanwhile, Trump envoys, including Jared Kushner, maintain that the process is moving slowly, although the outlook remains tied to the Israeli election in October.
Fuentes
Sobre esta nota. Written by El Notero with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not conduct its own reporting on this event.
