The Israeli Cabinet met again for a second time in 24 hours to discuss ongoing negotiations with Hamas in Cairo. Talks are set to resume again on Sunday in the hopes of reaching and signing a long-term ceasefire agreement with the terror organization.
It is believed that basis for the negotiations now appears to be the 2012 accord reached after Operation Pillar of Defense, which among other things called for an end to rocket fire on Israel (never happened), the opening of border crossings under Egyptian and Israeli supervision (did happen), and the transfer of money to Gaza through PA President Mahmoud Abbas (which is more of an internal Palestinian Authority problem).
But much of the negotiations remain shrouded in secrecy and rumor, as some reports say that Israel agreed to a Gaza sea port in exchange for Hamas’s demilitarization – terms which Hamas turned down, and other reports saying that Israel made no such offer.
What is clear is that the demilitarization of Gaza and Hamas no longer even appears to be seriously under discussion.
Other reports say that Israel agreed to the transfer of money to Hamas clerks, as long as there is oversight that it doesn’t go to Hamas terrorists, presuming one can tell the difference between the Hamas agent who fires a rocket, and the Hamas clerk who pays for the rocket to be built in the first place.
Netanyahu also updated the cabinet on the latest tensions between US President Obama against the Jewish State, specifically Obama’s new ban (or delay) on weapon sales to Israel – including those related to Iron Dome.
Netanyahu’s strategy seems to be to push the problems down the road – wait until Obama is no longer president, and then fight the next fight with Hamas then too.