No clear direction on Gaza's governance, four competing models emerging

By Patrick Kingsley

  Through nearly 16 months of war in Gaza, politicians and analysts debated competing proposals for the territory’s postwar governance, but no clear direction emerged while the fighting continued. 

Now, as a fragile cease-fire holds and as Israel and Hamas prepare for negotiations to extend the truce, four rival models for Gaza’s future have begun to take shape. 

Hamas, weakened but unbowed, still controls most of the territory and is trying to entrench that authority. Under the terms of the cease-fire, Israel is meant to withdraw gradually from Gaza, but its troops still occupy key parts of it. Right-wing Israeli leaders want their forces to expand that control, even if it means restarting the war. A group of foreign security contractors offers another model. At Israel’s invitation, they are running a checkpoint on a crucial thoroughfare in northern Gaza, screening vehicles for weapons. Some Israeli officials say that activity could develop into international stewardship of a much wider area, involving Arab states instead of private contractors. 

And in the south, representatives of the Palestinian Authority began over the weekend to staff a border crossing with Egypt, working with European security officials. The authority, which lost control of Gaza to Hamas in 2007, hopes that it could, in time, replicate those efforts across the entire territory. 

For now, it’s unclear which template will emerge as the dominant model. The outcome will likely depend in large part on Trump, who is set to discuss Gaza’s future on Tuesday in Washington with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. And Saudi Arabia could tilt the scales if it agrees for the first time to forge formal ties with Israel — in exchange for a particular governance structure in Gaza.  

Talks start on 2nd phase of truce deal  

Talks have started on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, the spokesperson for the Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Tuesday. 

The first phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into force on January 19 after 15 months of war and involved a halt to fighting, the release of some of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas and the freeing of some Palestinian prisoners. Phase two of the three-phase deal is intended to focus on agreements on the release of the remaining hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.  

Two Israeli soldiers killed in northern West Bank, army says  

Two Israeli soldiers were killed on Tuesday in the Menashe Brigade area in the northern West Bank, the Israeli army said in a statement. The army added that earlier, it had killed a person who opened fire on soldiers stationed at a military post in the region.At least six people were injured in a shooting attack at a checkpoint in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Tuesday morning, said the Israeli military and area hospitals. agencies