Mladenov meets Netanyahu, urges halt to strikes

Nikolay Mladenov met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday, August 3, as the Board of Peace tried to advance a Gaza disarmament arrangement it said it had reached with Hamas. The Board of Peace said Mladenov, its high representative for Gaza, held “constructive and detailed” talks with Netanyahu and his team. Two people familiar with the meeting told the Associated Press that Mladenov also urged Netanyahu to halt Israeli strikes in Gaza. The meeting came as ceasefire and disarmament talks remained stuck over the terms for Israeli military pullbacks and Hamas weapons removal. ### Why was Mladenov in Netanyahu’s office? The Board of Peace said the August 3 meeting was partly about a new disarmament deal the body had reached with Hamas for Gaza’s postwar transition. In its statement, the Board of Peace said the objective was “the complete decommissioning of weapons in the Strip and the transition away from rule by the gun to civilian governance.” (religionnews.com) Jerusalem-based reports said Mladenov’s discussions with Netanyahu focused on how to begin that process while fighting was still continuing. The Jerusalem Post, citing sources familiar with the meeting, reported that Mladenov asked for Israeli strikes to stop so a 14-day ceasefire could begin and demilitarization efforts could move forward. ### What did the Board of Peace say after the meeting? (religionnews.com) The Board of Peace described the talks as “constructive and detailed,” language that appeared in the statement carried by AP and other outlets. The statement did not say Netanyahu had agreed to halt attacks or accept the Board’s timetable. (jpost.com) The Hindu, also carrying the AP report, said Mladenov and his team were pressuring Israel to stop striking Gaza while they pursued the agreement to decommission Hamas-held weapons. That account matched the AP reporting that Mladenov used the meeting to press for an immediate stop to strikes. (religionnews.com) ### What was holding up the broader talks? Netanyahu was meeting Mladenov while negotiations were stalled over sequencing. The Board of Peace had been trying to broker terms under which Hamas would give up weapons and Gaza would move to civilian administration, but Israeli withdrawal and the timing of disarmament remained disputed. (thehindu.com) The Times of Israel reported that after the meeting, the Board of Peace appeared to harden its position on Israeli pullbacks, saying withdrawal beyond a designated line would come only after disarmament. Al Jazeera, citing the same broader dispute, reported that the Board of Peace said there would be no Israeli withdrawal from Gaza before Hamas disarmed. (pbs.org) ### Did Netanyahu publicly accept the ceasefire request? Israeli media reports available on Thursday did not show Netanyahu publicly accepting Mladenov’s request for a halt to strikes. AP’s account of the meeting said only that Mladenov pressed the point in private talks. The lack of a public Israeli commitment left the Board of Peace still trying to bridge the gap between its disarmament plan and Israel’s military campaign. (timesofisrael.com) ABC News, in a separate segment on August 4, described the talks as part of phase-two negotiations aimed at ending the conflict between Israel and Hamas. ### What comes next in the Gaza track? August 4 and August 5 reports showed the same core issues still unresolved: Hamas disarmament, Israeli withdrawal terms and whether a ceasefire can begin before those steps are completed. (pbs.org) The participants named across those reports remained Netanyahu, Mladenov, Hamas and the Board of Peace. (abcnews.com) The next milestone is further negotiation over the disarmament framework the Board of Peace says it has already discussed with Hamas. No date for a new formal round was announced in the reports reviewed Thursday, but the diplomacy remained centered in Jerusalem and on the Board of Peace’s proposed ceasefire-and-disarmament sequence. (religionnews.com)