The future of the cease-fire in Gaza, along with the territory’s long-term fate, hung in the balance on Tuesday as President Trump prepared to meet with King Abdullah II of Jordan amid a public spat between the American leader and Hamas.
Mr. Trump envisions taking over Gaza and expelling Palestinians to nearby countries, including Jordan. He has threatened to end American financial support for Jordan if the king refuses to accept that vision.
The dispute is one of several that imperil the fragile truce between Hamas and Israel. Hamas threatened to derail the agreement on Monday night, warning that it would delay the release of some hostages on Saturday if Israel did not send more aid to Gaza.
In response, Mr. Trump threatened “all hell” if every hostage were not released by the weekend. Hamas later softened its position, while Mr. Trump included a caveat that suggested his threat was a negotiating tactic, not an ultimatum.
While the immediate crisis is likely to be resolved soon, analysts said, another hurdle looms in March, when the cease-fire is set to elapse unless Hamas and Israel negotiate an extension.
“It’s likely that they will reach a compromise before Saturday,” said Ibrahim Dalalsha, director of the Horizon Center, a political research group in Ramallah, in the West Bank. “But this crisis is a prelude for a much bigger crisis that is coming in early March.”
All the major players have made negotiations harder.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has delayed the talks, wary of an extension that would allow Hamas to remain the dominant military force in Gaza.
Hamas, though nominally willing to share control with other Palestinian factions, has given no sign that it will disarm.
And Mr. Trump’s pronouncements — including his threats to expel Gaza’s residents — have angered Hamas and amplified the sense of chaos surrounding the negotiations.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly called for the United States to occupy and rebuild Gaza, threatening on Monday to withdraw financial support for Egypt and Jordan if they do not house Palestinians displaced by that effort.
Such a forced migration would destabilize both countries, and King Abdullah is expected to present alternatives to Mr. Trump.
Analysts are divided about whether Mr. Trump’s idea is serious, but the dispute highlights the growing unpredictability about Gaza’s future.
The current standoff stems in part from Hamas’s accusation that Israel has not upheld its promises for the first phase of the cease-fire. Israel was required to send hundreds of thousands of tents into Gaza, a promise that Hamas says Israel has not kept.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, three Israeli officials and two mediators said that Hamas’s claims were accurate.
But COGAT, the Israeli military unit that oversees aid deliveries, said in a written response that Hamas’s claims were “completely false accusations. Hundreds of thousands of tents have entered Gaza since the beginning of the agreement, as well as fuel, generators and everything Israel pledged.”
Regardless, officials and commentators say this dispute can be resolved relatively easily if Israel allows more aid to Gaza.
The more serious issue is the widespread perception that Mr. Netanyahu is undermining the negotiations over an extended truce.
Those talks were meant to begin early last week. Instead, Mr. Netanyahu delayed sending a team to Qatar, which is mediating talks, until early this week.
That delegation consisted of three officials who have not previously led Israel’s negotiating effort, according to five Israeli officials and an official from one of the mediating countries. And their mandate was only to listen, not to negotiate.
That created the perception that Mr. Netanyahu was playing for time rather than trying to extend the truce.
All of the officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private talks more freely.
Asked for comment, Omer Dostri, a spokesman for the prime minister, said that Mr. Netanyahu was “working tirelessly to return all hostages held by the Hamas terrorist organization.” Mr. Dostri added that Israel would send negotiators to discuss the deal’s extension after Israel’s position had been set by the cabinet.
Mr. Netanyahu has often said that Hamas will not remain in power after the war. And key members of Mr. Netanyahu’s governing coalition have expressed a desire to resume the war to oust Hamas, despite calls from much of the Israeli public for an extension of the truce to free more hostages, even if it leaves the militant group in power.
A Hamas official, Mahmoud Mardawi, said that the group’s warning on Monday had been in response only to the disagreements over humanitarian aid. But analysts said that it was also an attempt to force Mr. Netanyahu to negotiate earnestly and was probably a reaction to Mr. Trump’s recent statements about depopulating Gaza.
Michael Milshtein, an Israeli analyst of Palestinian affairs, said, “There’s an anger among Hamas about the demands of both Netanyahu and Trump that Hamas will be kicked out of Gaza.”
“The announcement yesterday was a kind of a signal that, if you continue demanding this, there will be several dramatic crises,” Mr. Milshtein added.
Natan Odenheimer, Gabby Sobelman and Adam Rasgon contributed reporting.
Source: nytimes.com
