When does Phase 2 of Gaza Ceasefire Start?
ISRAEL – The phase 2 of Gaza ceasefire agreement is scheduled to begin early in the New Year, according to people familiar with the matter.
Israel’s Channel 13 on Wednesday cited an unnamed senior Israeli official as saying: “US special envoy Steve Witkoff informed Israel and the mediators that the second phase of the Gaza agreement will begin in early January.”
According to Middle East Monitor, Channel 13 added that Israeli officials fear President Donald Trump could push ahead with the next phase without Gaza’s disarmament.
Israel and Hamas agreed to a two-phase ceasefire on Oct. 9 through mediation by Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye under Trump’s sponsorship, though Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 400 Palestinians have since been killed amid alleged Israeli violations and delays in moving to phase two.
Israeli Settler Attacks Continue
Illegal Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian sheep farm near the city of Ramallah early Friday Dec. 26, assaulting workers and stealing around 150 sheep.
The illegal settlers raided the town of Deir Dibwan, east of Ramallah, broke into the farm and beat two workers before driving off with the sheep, local sources said.
The town has been repeatedly targeted by extremist illegal settler attacks, including sheep thefts, arson attacks on vehicles and shops, and assaults on Palestinians, the sources added.
About 750,000 illegal Israeli settlers live in hundreds of settlements across the occupied West Bank, including around 250,000 in East Jerusalem, and carry out near-daily attacks against Palestinians in efforts to force them from their land.
According to the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, an official body, illegal Israeli settlers carried out 621 attacks against Palestinians and property in the occupied West Bank in November.
Israeli forces and illegal settlers have killed at least 1,103 Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, injured nearly 11,000, and detained around 21,000 since October 2023, Palestinian figures showed.
In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Palestinian authorities have long urged the international community to pressure Israel to halt settlement activity in the occupied territories, which the UN considers illegal.
Israel was established in 1948 on Palestinian land, and later occupied the remaining Palestinian territories. Successive Israeli governments have rejected a withdrawal and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
