Israeli minister sets 4 conditions for talks on phase 2 of Gaza ceasefire deal

Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen set four conditions on Monday for starting negotiations on the second phase of a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.

"Israel has four conditions before moving to the second phase,” Cohen, a member of Israel's Security Cabinet, told the public broadcaster KAN.

He said these conditions include the return of Israeli captives, the removal of Hamas from Gaza, the disarmament of the enclave, and Israel's security control of the territory.

The first six-week phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal took effect on Jan. 19, halting Israel's deadly war that has killed more than 48,300 people and left the enclave in ruins.

The negotiations on the second phase of the agreement were scheduled to start in early February, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been procrastinating about starting the talks.

The second phase of the Gaza deal includes Israel's full withdrawal from Gaza and ending the war, along with prisoner swaps.

On Saturday, Israel delayed the release of 620 Palestinian prisoners from its jails in exchange for six Israeli captives and four bodies released by Hamas, citing what it called “degrading handover ceremonies.”

- West Bank annexation

Cohen also reiterated support for Israel's annexation of the occupied West Bank.

“This move is possible, realistic and right,” he claimed.

The Israeli army has been conducting military operations in the northern West Bank since last month, killing at least 60 people and displacing thousands.

The raids were the latest in Israel's ongoing military escalation in the West Bank where at least 923 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the onslaught against the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The International Court of Justice declared in July that Israel's long-standing occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal, demanding the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.