Jacob Magid
@JacobMagid · Israeli English-language press & book authors
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief.
Senior Fatah official Jibril Rajoub suggested earlier today that those divisions are why the elections — which haven’t been held since 2006 — may well end up being delayed yet again. (6/6) https://t.co/l8KfJ7eRnn
Polling has indicated the many current divisions within Fatah are harming the party’s chances to perform well in the election. (5/6) https://t.co/QOu1oX0g1c
Cairo already tried leaning on Abbas to reconcile with Dahlan ahead of an internal Fatah election earlier this year, but did not succeed. (4/6) https://t.co/awM9J5BOJt
Egypt believes reconciliation within Fatah is critical before the Palestinian legislative election currently scheduled for November 28. (3/6)
The second official says Sissi will use the meeting to again urge Abbas to reconcile with longtime Fatah rival Mohammad Dahlan, who heads a breakaway faction of Abbas’s Fatah party and has been living in exile in the UAE for more than 15 years. (2/6)
🧵New: PA President Mahmoud Abbas will travel to Cairo next week to meet with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, a Palestinian official and a second official familiar with the matter tell @timesofisrael (1/6) https://t.co/g0JxCYblAd
A 2nd BoP official highlighted Bibi's refusal to allow recruits to new Pal police force to leave Gaza for training, even though they already cleared Israeli vetting to ensure they're not tied to Hamas. "The holdup prolongs existence of Hamas police armed with AK-47s." (14/14)
"Israel’s current policy is a pre-Oct. 7 policy of trying to keep Hamas in power," the official said, arguing that by not allowing for advancement of disarmament plan while also not launching op to try & defeat Hamas, Bibi is effectively prolonging its reign in Gaza. (13/14)
The Board of Peace official also stressed that Hamas, too, is operating in ways that go against the disarmament proposal by continuing to deploy gunmen in the streets of Gaza, in shows of force that have defied requests from Middle East mediating countries. (11/14)
In the meantime, the official noted that the board is still able to advance other elements of its 20-point plan to rebuild Gaza, including repairing water and sanitation infrastructure as well as establishing a new education system for the Strip. (10/14)
Regardless, BoP's leverage over Israel will return after elex, regardless of who wins, the official from the US-controlled panel insisted. At that point, whoever is PM won't want to pay price of blocking US-led initiative w/ widespread int'l backing, the official claimed(9/14)
Moreover, the official suggested many of Netanyahu's rivals who are using disarmament plan to attack him would themselves back proposal if they were in power. "If his rivals are politicizing the issue, we can't really expect Bibi to operate differently," 2nd source said. (8/14)
The Board of Peace official adamantly objected to such characterizations of the disarmament proposal, arguing that the plan still gives Israel the right to resume intensive military operations against Hamas if the group doesn't hand over its weapons. (7/14)
After the Board of Peace announced Hamas’s approval of its disarmament plan, Yashar chief Gadi Eisenkot used the opportunity to attack Netanyahu, accusing him of acquiescing to an initiative that would leave Hamas in power. (6/14)
Threats or even actual sanctions wouldnt work in coaxing Bibi into cooperating with BoP, and they would instead actually assist the premier in his campaign by allowing him to claim that he has bucked US pressure to “surrender” to Hamas, the official explained. (5/14)
While the Board of Peace would like to pressure Netanyahu more aggressively to fall in line, it has come to the conclusion that the premier has “100% entered campaign mode,” the official argued. (4/14)
The Board of Peace was hoping to begin implementing its proposal for disarming Hamas after the group approved it on July 30, but the initiative has stalled due to Netanyahu’s opposition to the plan. (3/14)
Netanyahu largely cooperated with the Board of Peace’s efforts over the past year, but that approach ceased completely two months ago, as the election campaign officially began, the official said. (2/14)
🧵New: The Board of Peace does not currently have leverage to influence Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of next month’s Knesset election, an official from the US-controlled panel overseeing the postwar management of Gaza told @TimesofIsrael (1/14) https://t.co/zYvHsTO7z1
The US is resigned to waiting until after the Knesset election before it renews its push to advance the Board of Peace’s disarmament plan, one of the diplomats said. (11/11)
Despite his frustration with Netanyahu, Kushner told Fox News on Aug 17 that he expected Hamas to begin handing over weapons in as few as 30 days. But 3 mediating diplos told ToI last week they don’t expect disarmament proposal to advance due to fervent Israeli opp (10/11)
The Board of Peace took eight months to coax the terror group into agreeing to the proposal on July 30, but the effort has stalled amid Israeli opposition. (9/11)
Kushner fumed at Netanyahu during a meeting in Jerusalem last month over the premier’s opposition to the Board of Peace’s plan to disarm Hamas. (8/11)
The Board of Peace has pressed Israel for months on the issue, but has yet to receive final approval. US special envoy Jared Kushner said on Sunday that the October 27 election has made Netanyahu’s government act “a little irrational” when it comes to Gaza. (7/11)
In addition to allowing the police recruits to leave Gaza, the Board of Peace is seeking assurances from Israel that those who exit will be permitted to return once they complete their training in Egypt, the officials said. (6/11)