Trump Envoy says
Steve Witkoff Steve Witkoff by US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that, although difficulties in negotiations on the continuation of the armistice of Israel-Hamas remain the second stage of the hostage deal “and the president” wants to see “it happened.
With FOX News, Witkoff said that on Sunday he kept “very productive and constructive” phone calls with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani and the Egyptian secret service chief Hassan Rashad, at which the leaders discussed the time of the second phase, “the time The second phase, the positions of the parties so that we can understand where we stand and we will continue the talks later this week ”, either in Cairo or in Doha.
He added that phase two “a little more complicated and more complicated, how we bring the two sides”, but made it clear that the conversations about phase two are continued in a “place”.
In the second phase, an end to the war is planned, he said, “but it refers to the fact that Hamas is not involved in the government and has gone from Gaza Strip. So we have to squad these two things. “
The deal itself does not see that Hamas will no longer be in power at the end of the second phase, but that both the bid and Trump administrations said they would not accept such a result as Israel has.
Get the times of the daily edition of Israel
By e -mail and never miss our top stories
By registering, they agree with the conditions
“But phase two will absolutely begin,” added Witkoff.
Steve Witkoff, special representative of ??????? pic.twitter.com/7epz9bsbgo
– Ada Jitza Cortés ?????????????? (@Ajitza) February 16, 2025
Witkoff also said in the Live TV interview that the second phase will include the publication of IDF soldiers, of which the USA believes that they are all alive, including Edan Alexander, the last living US citizen, who is still held by Hamas.
Later on Sunday Witkoff told Channel 12 News that Trump “wants to see the second phase if it leads to hostages being published and life can be saved and leading to peace”.
“That’s what his policy program is about,” he added. “It’s about peace through strength.”
Witkoff said: “Hamas used to threaten not to publish hostages a week and guess what? You have withdrawn and published. “Hopefully hostage publication[s] will continue this weekend. “
US President Donald Trump shakes hand on February 11, 2025 in Washington, DC, with Steve Witkoff, a special representative in the Middle East. (Al Drago / Getty Images on AFP)
When asked about Trump’s controversial plan to take over Gaza, Witkoff said that people are attacked for “new and unique suggestions”.
“But it also encouraged a lot of conversation,” he said. “Now you have the Egyptians that we have a plan that Jordanians say we have a plan, and people actually take part in really important discussions.
Egypt and Jordan have not yet introduced such a plan, but Kairo said that it is working on a gaza strip for post -war management that will enable the Palestinians to stay in Gaza.
Trump’s goal is to speak where the population can be resettled by around two million gazas, said Witkoff: “In some respects, the obvious answers are in some ways of Jordan, but in some ways other countries that called us and Called and voluntarily we said: “We want to take part in this humanitarian efforts.” That should be recommended. “
He has not entered which countries have offered to take part in the relocation of Gazaners.
Vehicles of the Red Cross are waiting at the point where the employees of the Hamas Terror Group should hand over Israeli hostages in Khan Younis as part of the exchange for hostage elder. (Bashar Taleb / AFP)
Netanyahu said at the Presidential Conference in Jerusalem on Sunday and said that his meeting in the White House with Trump at the beginning of this month was “one of the consequences of the episode of the most consistent meetings” between an Israeli Prime Minister and a US president.
“We change the Middle East,” he said.
The IDF “decimated a lot of Hamas”, Netanyahu claimed and added: “We haven’t finished the job yet, but we will do it. Israel will destroy Hamas as a military force. “
The Prime Minister again supported Trump’s Migration Plan from Gaza, whom he described Gazas as a “brave new vision” for the future, and suggested that the Palestinians should have the opportunity to leave the strip if they wish.
“No violent evacuation, no ethnic cleansing,” he insisted on it, “but a choice for those who want another future.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks the conference of the President of the great American Jewish organizations, which are gathered in Jerusalem on February 16, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Netanyahu concluded his speech by addressing Israel’s strength after 16 months of fight: “Today, every Israel recognizes strength. The US Israel alliance is stronger than ever, and the Jewish people is more resistant than ever. “
The delegation that was sent to Cairo to get talks, but not in the second phase
Also on Sunday, the Prime Minister instructed a negotiation team to go to Cairo on Monday to talk about the continuation of the first phase of the hostage contract with Hamas, his office said.
The Prime Minister’s office emphasized that the decision was made “in coordination” with Witkoff, who spoke to Netanyahu on Sunday, and that negotiations on the second phase of the deal would only begin after the security cabinet on Monday.
According to a report by Channel 12, the delegation departs with a “narrow and limited” mandate and received no approval to discuss the continuation of the deal in his second and third phases, despite inquiries from the head of the security services.
The report added that the Israeli delegation would not contain Mossad boss David Barnea or Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar.
Also on Sunday evening Netanyahu refused a report by Channel 12, in which he had only approved the delegation, which was sent to Cairo after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who met with the Prime Minister in Jerusalem on Sunday He refused to refuse to send a negotiation team “not an option”.
“The conversation in the second phase deals with the” day after “” “existed, the PMO,” and it is led by the political Echelon. “
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 16, 2025, a joint explanation of the media in the office of the Prime Minister in Jerusalem. (Evelyn Hockstein / AFP)
After meeting Netanyahu, Rubio also ensured that the Hamas ended up the end of the deal, and “asked our partners to impress the guides of Hamas that they play with fire.”
When Hamas threatened not to publish hostages last Saturday, Trump replied to the agreement due to “Israeli violations” that the “All” terrorist group should publish the hostages so that “the Gates of Hell” is opened in Gaza.
After intensive intervention from the mediation countries to solve the crisis, the exchange took place on Saturday as planned, whereby Sagui Dekel-Schen, Sasha Troubanov and Iair Horn returned to Israel after 498 days of captivity.
Seventy of the 251 hostages that were kidnapped on October 7, 2023 remain trapped in Gaza. Nineteen Israeli hostages have so far been brought into force as part of the last month: four female civilians, five female IDF soldiers and 10 male civilians. In addition, five Thai hostages were published outside the frame of the deal with Israel.
Published as Geisel, Ohad Ben Ami speaks in a predetermined video that was played during a protest on the hostage of Tel Aviv on February 15, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Another 14 Israeli hostages are to be published in the first phase of ongoing ceasefire with the Hamas, of which the terrorist group said, eight are dead.
The terrorist group freed 105 civilians during the weekly ceasefire at the end of November 2023, and four hostages were released before.
Eight hostages were saved by lively troops, and the corpses of 40 hostages were also recovered, including three incorrectly killed by the Israeli military when they tried to escape their kidnappers.
Hamas also organizes two Israeli civilians who entered the strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the body of an IDF soldier that was killed in 2014. The body of another IDF soldier, which was also killed in 2014, was recovered from Gaza in January.
