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Source: https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sygyfxkhfl
Israel Insists on Removal of All Weapons from Gaza before Withdrawal
(Ynet News) Itamar Eichner - Israel on Thursday pushed back against reports that Hamas and mediators were close to reaching an agreement. A political source clarified that the deal being discussed in Cairo is not an agreement with Israel, and that Jerusalem does not accept the framework in its current form. Israel is demanding the complete disarmament of Hamas, including the removal of all weapons from Gaza and the full demilitarization of the Strip, as a prerequisite for any progress. The political source stressed that there will be no Israeli withdrawal from the yellow line in Gaza before Hamas completes its disarmament and the Strip is fully demilitarized. The Americans present the roadmap as a complete and absolute disarmament of Hamas. Israel, however, is making clear that storing weapons inside the Strip does not amount to demilitarization and that it has no intention of withdrawing based on promises or a mechanism that allows weapons to remain in Gaza. Jerusalem fears that leaving weapons in Gaza, even if stored in monitored facilities, would allow Hamas to regain control of them in the future.