RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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There is a major development in the effort to bring lasting peace to Gaza. Hamas says it has agreed to a U.S.-backed framework that would ultimately see the militant group give up its weapons and control of Gaza, while Israeli forces withdraw from the territory. Nick Shifrin reports. We begin tonight in the Middle East, where there is a major development in the effort to bring lasting peace to Gaza. Hamas says it has agreed to a U.S.-backed framework that could ultimately see the militant group give up its weapons and control of Gaza while Israeli forces withdraw from the territory. Amna Nawaz: The U.S. and the U.S.-sponsored Board of Peace admit implementing the agreement will take time and could be derailed. But President Trump today called it a great breakthrough. Nick Schifrin's been tracking it all and joins us now. So, Nick, what exactly has been agreed to here? Nick Schifrin: U.S. and Board of Peace officials say that this is a new road map that provides a path for Hamas to disarm, Israel to withdraw from Gaza and for Gaza to be reconstructed. It is an understatement to say that those steps have enormous challenges. But let's go through the road map. It would begin when Hamas police transferring their small arms to a new police force that's being trained right now outside of Gaza by international troops known as the International Stabilization Force. Number two, a new government would move into Gaza. It's called the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, or NCAG. It calls itself transitional technocratic and apolitical. This is not the Palestinian Authority, Amna. This is a new administration almost from scratch. And then, number three, international troops would deploy into Gaza. Now, currently Israeli Defense Forces are deployed to a Yellow Line in Gaza. You see that there. They have since expanded to an even larger footprint. But the idea is international troops would replace those Israeli troops. So, back to the road map. The next step is the hardest, disarming the Qassam brigades. That's Hamas' military wing. This would be Hamas heavy weapons, depot, production sites, and tunnels decommissioned and stored by the interim Palestinian government, not by Israel or the international community. The step would be -- quote -- "gradual, sequential, and time-bound" -- unquote -- and linked to an Israeli withdrawal in phases. Today, President Trump called it a -- quote -- "big step" and linked it to the war in Iran. President Donald Trump: It's a great breakthrough. Nobody's ever thought that would -- nobody thought that would be possible to disarm Hamas. That shows you how much success we're having with Iran. Nick Schifrin: A senior administration official told reporters last night that Iran tried, but failed to pressure Hamas not to accept the deal. Amna Nawaz: Nick, it would be helpful to take a big step back here at this moment and just answer, how feasible is it that both Hamas and Israel actually follow through on all these commitments and that this actually works? Nick Schifrin: Let's take those two questions, Hamas and Israel, one by one. Let's look at Hamas, first of all. Every expert we spoke to today pointed out that Hamas agreed to a particular kind of disarming. The weapons would go to Palestinians, not to Israel. Hamas leaders today said they were putting weapons in -- quote -- "storage" inside Gaza and that Israel had to go first. Hamas is serious, but does not think that Israel is, says Yousef Munayyer of the Arab Center Washington, D.C. Yousef Munayyer, Executive Director, Arab Center Washington, D.C.: This is unprecedented in so many ways. Hamas as a movement is a militant movement. And it has long touted the ability to use militarized resistance against Israel as the pathway towards liberating Palestine. So it's never really happened before that they have been officially willing to disarm. Hamas, along with the mediators and the United States, have hammered out a pathway in which disarmament can happen, and now Israel has to agree whether or not it's willing to accept that. Nick Schifrin: So that brings us to Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin, who today said nothing, but an Israeli official sent me this statement -- quote -- "Israel has reiterated that there will be no withdrawal whatsoever of the IDF from the current Yellow Line unless Hamas undergoes a genuine disarmament." So that is not exactly an endorsement. It also highlights a chicken-and-egg problem of who goes first. All of this adds up to something that is highly unlikely to work, argues Aaron David Miller of the Carnegie Endowment. Aaron David Miller, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Given the leaders we have and Hamas and Israel's red lines and Donald Trump's distractions, this plan is tethered, frankly, to a galaxy far, far away, rather than to the realities back here on planet Earth. The red lines that each Hamas and Israel have defined are red lines I don't think Hamas is prepared to cross without extraordinary deliverables on their end, and one that I know the current government of Israel with less than three months before an election is prepared to cross. Nick Schifrin: So, one key question, Amna, will President Trump pressure Netanyahu ahead of that election? A senior administration official says, if Israel does not follow through its with its commitments, President Trump will be -- quote -- "very, very disappointed" -- unquote. Amna Nawaz: So what happens next? Nick Schifrin: The road map demands that Israel stop military operations, including operations that were launched just this week. Palestinians say Israel's killed more than 1,000 Palestinians since the cease-fire was enacted. Israel says it's been hitting Hamas leaders who are trying to rearm. Within two weeks, there's supposed to be a timetable for all of the steps that we talked about, and, after that, the interim Palestinian government is supposed to enter Gaza. We will see what happens. A senior administration off...
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