Although hampered, the Gaza ceasefire agreement continues to be implemented. As of this morning, tens of thousands of Palestinians are returning to their homes in the northern part of the enclave, after the withdrawal of a large part of the Israeli forces, which until early this morning were in the so-called “Netzarim Axis”, which divided the Gaza Strip into northern and southern parts , as early as the second month of the war that broke out on October 7, 2023.

The withdrawal of Israeli forces was carried out in accordance with the terms of the ceasefire agreement, after Qatari Prime Minister Al-Thani last night assured the Netanyahu government that Hamas would release the young civilian hostage, Arbel Yehud, the day after tomorrow Thursday (29/1). , along with another Israeli hostage. Thus, all indications are that the release of another four hostages will take place next Saturday, and correspondingly, Israel will release more than 100 Palestinian prisoners held in the country’s maximum security prisons.

Lifetime residents in Turkey, Tunisia, Algeria

It is worth noting that, as stipulated in the truce agreement, the Palestinian lifers who were released last Saturday will not return to the West Bank. They have already been temporarily transferred for a few days to Egypt, while, as DW was informed by well-informed sources, they are to be transferred to Tunisia, Algeria and Turkey, where they will remain for a year. Despite the initial information that Qatar would be included among these countries, the Doha government refused to accept them. It is not excluded that the selection of the specific countries will in the future be a qualifier for a possible “safe exile” of Hamas leaders, if the negotiations will ultimately lead to such a solution. For now, however, the Palestinian organization appears to have regained control of Gaza, at a time when Israeli troops are gradually withdrawing from areas of the enclave, in accordance with all that has been set for the first stage of the ongoing ceasefire.

The “evacuation plan” causes reactions

Meanwhile, Jordan and Egypt yesterday rejected in official statements the idea publicly expressed by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, who in a private telephone conversation with the Jordanian Monarch, Abdullah II, told him that the governments of Amman and Cairo will be asked to accept Palestinian refugees from Gaza into their territory, for a short or a long period of time. “Jordan is for the Jordanians and Palestine for the Palestinians” was the laconic statement issued yesterday by the Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ayman Safadi, while in the same mood an official statement from Egypt was made public a few hours later.

It is not certain what the real intentions of the new occupant of the White House are regarding the thorny open issue of managing the situation in Gaza. However, according to information broadcast by the authoritative Saudi Al-Hadath television network, the main points of the Gaza “evacuation plan”, which is being worked out by Donald Trump’s environment, are summarized in the transfer of approximately one and a half million Palestinian residents of Gaza to three Arab and one Asian populous Muslim country. Their stay there will last from six months to a year, during which time the work of rebuilding the Gaza Strip will begin. The time horizon of the temporary stay of the residents of Gaza abroad is estimated to last until the beginning of 2026, when they will return to their homes and contribute to their reconstruction.

The only positive reaction to the information released about Trump’s alleged pending “evacuation plan” came from Israeli Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich, without any official position from the Netanyahu government.

Tomorrow’s visit of Witkoff is critical

Tomorrow’s visit to Israel by the White House’s special envoy for Middle East affairs, Steven Witkoff, is expected to be of critical importance, and the atmosphere of anticipation – but also confusion – on the part of the Israeli decision-making centers, not only in terms of information that has come to light about how the US is thinking about shaping its ‘day after’ Gaza, but also regarding the course of their bilateral relations with Israel. Among the issues reportedly on the agenda of the Witkoff meetings is the coordination of the two countries’ moves on the Lebanon front, Iran and its regional allies, and finally, the setting of the date of the one-on-one Netanyahu-Trump meeting at the White House, for which there are increasing indications that it will take place within the first 15th day of February.