The ceasefire in the Gaza Strip continues to be a leading topic in the Western press, writes BTA.
US President Donald Trump said last night that the US may intervene to disarm "Hamas" – "swiftly and perhaps violently" – if the organization does not do it itself, which is a potential vulnerability in the US-brokered ceasefire agreement that temporarily halted the war between Israel and "Hamas" in Gaza, writes the American newspaper "Washington Post".
The Palestinian group „Hamas", which has controlled Gaza for almost two decades, has not yet publicly announced its acceptance and has not signed any document specifying how it will disarm, although the US president said he had received verbal assurances that the group would do so, the publication notes.
However, Trump's warning demonstrates one of several serious problems that must be resolved before Israel and "Hamas" can move to the second phase of negotiations on the ceasefire agreement, the "Washington Post" commented.
However, the US president's comments suggest that the Palestinian group may continue to play a limited role in Gaza, especially after information emerged about a direct meeting between White House representatives and "Hamas" negotiators at the highest level, the British newspaper „Guardian" wrote.
On board the "Air Force One" Trump told reporters that "Hamas" would continue to play a limited role in maintaining security in Gaza before the start of the second phase of the peace agreement, although the US president's 20-point plan explicitly states that the group must disarm and give up its goal of controlling the Gaza Strip, the publication points out.
Despite Trump's repeated and categorical declarations that the war is over, reckless steps by either side could lead to a renewal of fighting, the American newspaper "New York Times" points out.
The deployment of international forces, as envisaged in the plan, could lead to the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the enclave, but it is still unclear which countries will contribute troops to these forces, how they will be financed and trained and when they will be deployed, draws attention the newspaper.
The publication quotes Israeli analysts and officials who say that the second phase of the negotiations is likely to stall. They predict that the status quo will persist so long that it will become entrenched, and “Hamas“ will keep its weapons, and the Israeli army will refuse to withdraw completely from Gaza.
According to them, under these circumstances, the Israeli army will treat the group in the same way as it treats the Lebanese Shiite movement “Hezbollah“ in Lebanon - from time to time it will carry out long-range strikes against “Hamas“ fighters or their weapons depots.
Meanwhile, emboldened by the declaration of peace in the Middle East, Trump said that he would now focus his efforts on mediating an agreement to end the war between Ukraine and Russia, the British newspaper writes "Telegraph“.
World leaders used the Gaza summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to praise Trump's efforts to resolve the conflict and urge him to do the same with Ukraine, the publication points out. Recently, the American head of state has increased the exchange of intelligence information with Ukrainian forces to help them strike Russian energy targets in an attempt to increase pressure on the Russian economy, the "Telegraph“.
Despite his efforts, however, reaching an agreement to end the war between Ukraine and Russia, which has been going on for more than three and a half years, has eluded him, the British newspaper comments.