Negotiators working on final roadmap for Gaza’s future, Hamas disarmament

Negotiators working on final roadmap for Gaza’s future, Hamas disarmament

ByAMICHAI STEIN

Discussions with mediators in Cairo are continuing and making progress, according to a diplomatic source who spoke to The Jerusalem Post on Thursday, as negotiators work to finalize a comprehensive roadmap for Gaza's future governance and security arrangements.

According to the source, the roadmap is designed as a balanced and pragmatic framework centered on the complete decommissioning of all weapons and a phased transition of responsibilities to a technocratic government.

"There will be no exceptions for certain weapons or certain people," the source said. "One authority, one law, one weapon."

The source said the proposed framework establishes a process for eliminating all tunnels, weapons depots, and weapons production facilities throughout the Gaza Strip, describing it as a comprehensive effort rather than a limited security arrangement.

At the conclusion of the implementation process, the source said, there would be no remaining terrorist infrastructure in Gaza. Hamas would have no governing or military role, either publicly or behind the scenes, in a model similar to that being applied to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Under the proposal, all weapons, both heavy and light, would come under the full control of the NCAG, in coordination with and supported by the ISF, which the source said is led by a two-star US Special Forces general.

The agreement also stipulates that there will be no Israeli withdrawal from the original "Yellow Line" unless full disarmament is implemented.

As part of the arrangement, Hamas would commit to halting all military activity, including the recruitment of new operatives into its ranks. In return, Israel would suspend its targeted killings campaign.

However, the framework makes clear that if new threats emerge, Israel would retain the right to take military action.

The process of storing and surrendering weapons is expected to begin in the coming weeks, once Hamas agrees to this framework, with the weapons being transferred to the International Stabilization Force (ISF) and permanently removed from operational use.

The diplomatic source emphasized that the roadmap is based on reciprocal implementation rather than trust between the parties.

"This entire process is built on reciprocity, not trust," the source said. "Each side's fulfillment of a commitment sequences the next commitment of the other side. A verification mechanism ensures compliance."

The source described the initiative as a turning point for Gaza, saying it was developed after lengthy negotiations guided by US President Donald Trump's Comprehensive Gaza Peace Plan.

"This is a new beginning for Gaza," the source said. "It has taken a long time to reach this stage, but our guiding light has been President Trump's Comprehensive Gaza Peace Plan and its objectives of providing a better future for the people of Gaza and security for the people of Israel."

According to the source, the roadmap is intended to translate that broader vision into a practical sequence of steps for both Israelis and Palestinians.

"The Roadmap is a first-of-its-kind agreement that operationalizes the Trump peace plan into steps that both Palestinians and Israelis will have to take to open this new chapter of peace, prosperity, and security for Gaza," the source said.

"The current talks in Cairo between Hamas and the mediators are aimed at reaching a deal - not just holding another round of negotiations," a source familiar with the Cairo negotiations told the Post. 

"At this stage, it remains unclear whether an agreement will be reached. What is clear, however, is that from the perspective of the mediators and the Board of Peace, there will be no scenario in which only some of the tunnels are dismantled, or only some of the weapons are surrendered. It has to be all of it," the source said. 

Terror And Chaos: What’s Behind The Murderous Ideology Of A Radicalized Iran?

Terror And Chaos: What’s Behind The Murderous Ideology Of A Radicalized Iran?

Tim Moore

Reflecting on my life, I can recount a series of wars that have transpired. I was born during the Vietnam conflict and came of age in the Cold War. In fact, my own initial training in the Air Force was focused on the great Soviet threat, and my POW training was based on the American experience in Vietnam.

While I was in high school, America first became embroiled in the Middle East unrest fomented by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Then, I watched as small conflicts erupted closer to home in Panama and even Grenada. Other skirmishes followed in places like Libya, Kosovo, and Somalia. By the early 1990s, even as the Cold War cooled, the focus turned once again to the Middle East, with multiple wars centered on Iraq and then Afghanistan. My own combat experience came over the deserts and mountains of both of those forlorn nations.

The point is that wars and rumors of wars have been the rule rather than the exception—even as the ramifications of those wars have grown increasingly consequential with the advent of nuclear weapons, cyberattacks, and bioterrorism. Far from the tranquil “New World Order” advocated by globalists 30 years ago, threats and dangers seem to be multiplying all around us.

The current conflict with Iran is indicative of the dilemma we face. Although the conflict with Iran has churned up new risks and tremendous disruptions (not just in oil prices and supply chains, but to livelihoods and even innocent lives subject to indiscriminate Iranian attacks), it seeks to eliminate a far greater threat: a nuclear-armed Iran. There is little doubt that if the ayatollahs, mullahs, and radicalized militants of Iran possessed a nuclear weapon, they would unleash it on Israel and American forces throughout the region.

Scoffers and anti-American agitators (including some in Congress) would ask why any nation—including a despotic regime in Iran—would utilize a weapon that would certainly lead to their own nation’s utter destruction. There are two reasons for their fanaticism, and both are urgent to our contemporary situation, reflective of a timeless struggle, and omens of another war that will soon rage in the heavens. Those reasons are:

1. Iran’s Shiite Muslim leaders are dedicated to an eschatology that anticipates a Muslim messiah.

2. Since Daniel’s day, Iran (then known as Persia) has been under the oversight of a powerful demon who serves the will of his infernal master, Satan.

Let’s break down these two dynamics.

The Supposed Twelfth Mahdi

Many Americans, and even most Christians, have a hard time distinguishing between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. And, they tend to think that Muslims throughout the Middle East are Arab. Both are gravely mistaken.

In a nutshell, Sunni Muslims (who are dominant in most Arab countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan) insist that the line of succession from Mohammed rightfully falls to exalted leaders (called Caliphs) who demonstrate their merit. Shias believe that Islamic leaders (Imams) must trace their lineage to Mohammed himself. This divergence alone traces back to shortly after Mohammed’s death in the 7th century.

More importantly, Shia Muslims believe that the 12th Imam (Mahdi) in the line of succession was uniquely gifted. They assert that he did not die but went into hiding, awaiting a moment in human history when an existential crisis will force his reemergence to usher in a final Muslim Khilāfah(Caliphate) over a global Muslim community (or Ummah). The fervency of this belief has motivated Shiite Muslims to extreme acts of terror and chaos, in the belief that they are accelerating the chaos necessary to cause the Mahdi to return.

Tellingly, the radical clerics who have controlled Iran for 47 years are willing to attack their Muslim neighbors and even impoverish or destroy their own people in pursuit of this warped ideology. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad often spoke in apocalyptic terms about the Iranian motivation regarding the Mahdi when he addressed the United Nations (from 2005-13). In his very first address in 2005, he said he felt a spiritual presence encompassing him and rendering the assembled delegates spellbound during his 28-minute speech. Although ridiculed by contemporary politicians, Ahmadinejad revealed something quite factual—and diabolical.

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Hamas said set to agree today to give up its heavy weapons if IDF leaves Gaza and ends strikes

Hamas said set to agree today to give up its heavy weapons if IDF leaves Gaza and ends strikes

Nurit Yohanan

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad-affiliated TV channel Palestine Al-Youm reports that an announcement is expected today on an agreement regarding the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire.

The report appears to refer to an agreement between Hamas and the mediators, which would still require Israeli approval to take effect.

According to the channel, the agreement would include Hamas placing its heavy weapons into storage rather than destroying them. It does not specify which party would take custody of the weapons.

The terror group’s light weapons are not mentioned in the report.

The report adds that the agreement would make the issue of the weapons contingent on a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to targeted killings and military strikes in the Strip.

Based on past negotiations, Israel is unlikely to accept these conditions.

Progress made on Gaza roadmap that would fully disarm Hamas, remove it from power — diplomatic official to ToI

Progress made on Gaza roadmap that would fully disarm Hamas, remove it from power — diplomatic official to ToI

Lazar Berman

Discussions with Hamas and mediators underway in Cairo are “making progress” on disarmament, a diplomatic official tells The Times of Israel.

“We continue to advance the implementation of the roadmap that offers a balanced and pragmatic path forward, with all weapons decommissioned and a phased transition of responsibilities taking place to hand over full authority to the technocratic government,” the official says, stressing that there will be “no exceptions for certain weapons or certain people. One authority, one law, one weapon.”

The roadmap under discussion “creates a process for the elimination of all tunnels, depots of weapons, and any weapons production facilities,” says the official.

The official adds that “this is a comprehensive process.”

If implemented, “there will be no more terror infrastructure in Gaza” at the end of the process, says the official.

Hamas will not be able to control developments from behind the scenes, as Hezbollah has done in Lebanon, argues the official.

“Hamas will have no role in front or behind and all weapons — heavy and light — will be under full control of the NCAG in coordination with and with the support of the ISF, which is led by a 2-star US Special Forces general,” the official continues, referring to the Palestinian technocratic government and the fledgling international peacekeeping force.

The process is built around the principle of reciprocity, says the official. When Hamas fulfills a commitment, Israel will respond in kind.

The official waxes optimistic about the plan’s potential.

“This is a new beginning for Gaza,” says the official. “It has taken a long time to reach this stage, but our guiding light has been President Trump’s Comprehensive Gaza Peace Plan.”

The official says that the roadmap is “a first-of-its-kind agreement that operationalizes the Trump peace plan into steps that both Palestinians and Israelis will have to take to open this new chapter of peace, prosperity and security for Gaza.”

US strikes Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in ‘powerful response’ to attacks on its forces

US strikes Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in ‘powerful response’ to attacks on its forces

ToI Staff

US Central Command carried out “a heavy wave of strikes” on dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran, it said early Thursday, a day after the Iranian military force targeted American troops in the region with ballistic missiles.

CENTCOM described the strikes as “a powerful response to yesterday’s attempted Iranian attacks on US forces based in the Middle East.”

The targets hit in the strikes included command centers, facilities for missiles and drones, and other military and surveillance sites, aiming to “further diminish threats posed by Iran and its proxies to American forces, commercial shipping, and neighboring Gulf countries,” it said.

The US attacks began at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday (0000 GMT on Thursday) and ended at 10 p.m. ET (0200 GMT on Thursday), according to CENTCOM.

The wave of strikes came hours after US President Donald Trump said it was Washington’s “turn” to strike Iran after Tehran launched missiles at US assets in Jordan on Tuesday night. Jordan’s armed forces said they’d foiled an Iranian attempt to target the kingdom with five missiles.

“We’re going to be hitting them very hard. Because it’s our turn to hit them. They know it’s coming. They’re asking us not to do it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, noting that all five missiles fired by Iran at Jordan were knocked down.

Trump also said he was briefed on a drone attack on tankers off the coast of Egypt.

“We’ll see if we get there with an agreement at some point,” Trump added of diplomatic efforts with Iran.

Iranian officials have previously vowed that if the US bombs Tehran or critical Iranian infrastructure, Iran will respond by firing missiles at Tel Aviv — something it has refrained from doing since the renewal of hostilities, aiming its fire instead at US bases and other targets in Arab Gulf states.

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