WASHINGTON, December 26. /TASS/. Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer will hold consultations at the White House and the US State Department on the Israeli authorities' plans to reduce the scale of fighting in the Gaza Strip and lower the intensity of the military operation, the Axios news outlet reported, citing sources.
According to the news outlet, the minister plans to discuss the end of the operation during meetings with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as well as members of Congress. Dermer will also discuss the transition to a phase of reduced fighting, which Israeli officials expect to begin by the end of January. In addition, the news outlet reported that the minister will discuss the issue of governing the Palestinian enclave during the transition period and in the long term.
The Washington administration has repeatedly stated that the Palestinian authorities should address the issue of governing Gaza. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously rejected the idea, but in recent weeks Dermer and other Israeli officials, Axios sources say, have begun discussing with their American counterparts the possibility of a so-called reformed Palestinian Authority.
Dermer will also discuss the issue of supplying Israel with ammunition and weapons. According to the news outlet, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant spoke by phone with Blinken last week and expressed concern about the delay in ammunition deliveries. The Israeli defense official asked if the delay was politically motivated, and Blinken assured him it was not. Sources told Axios that no decision had been made to slow the process of delivering ammunition to Israel, emphasizing that this is purely a paper issue.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli borderline kibbutz settlements and taking over 200 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, and has been delivering air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also underway in the West Bank.