Hamas Insists on Neutralizing Weapons, Tying Security to Israeli Guarantees in Gaza Talks

While regional and international efforts to cement a ceasefire in Gaza continue, Cairo is witnessing a new round of negotiations between Palestinian factions and Egyptian, Qatari, and Turkish mediators.

“Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid announce an unprecedented alliance for the legislative elections in Israel”

CNews

The Monte Carlo International Discussion segment says the issue of the factions weapons, especially Hamas, remains the central knot hindering any final understanding.

CNews

It adds that Hamas’s insistence is on neutralizing weapons rather than handing them over, and on tying any security arrangements to clear Israeli guarantees.

The same segment frames the negotiations around a “final knot” before a Gaza deal, with talk of a positive atmosphere and progress that could be built on to move to the second phase of the agreement.

Israel’s election season is entering a new phase as the right-wing Likud party, led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, announced that the majority backing it had submitted a bill to dissolve the Knesset.

The Al Arabi TV report says the bill’s text states that "The 25th Knesset will be dissolved before the end of its term" and that elections will be held on a date determined by the Knesset committee, provided it is not less than 90 days after enactment.

Haaretz

It also reports that Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said he and his political ally Naftali Bennett are ready to run in early elections after the governing coalition proposed dissolving parliament, and Lapid wrote on X: 'We are ready. Together,'.

In parallel, the Monte Carlo International Discussion segment ties the Gaza file to broader regional calculations, noting that the US-Iran memorandum of understanding to end the war and establish a sixty-day negotiation phase has not yet been signed.

As Israel moves toward early elections, الجزيرة نت reports political and legal moves led by close associates of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu aimed at banning the United Arab List (Ra'am) from the upcoming parliamentary elections.

“Enemies of my enemies are my friends”

L'Express

The report says Channel 13 discussed measures against the Islamic Movement – Southern Branch, alleging its activity in diverting donations to Gaza during the war, and it quotes sources close to the prime minister saying enforcing the step would require special legislation in the Knesset and assessments from Israeli security agencies led by the Shin Bet.

In response, Yair Golan, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, attacked Netanyahu on X, writing that the prime minister 'can sense the end of his road, and understands well that he is about to lose in the elections.'

Meanwhile, Radio-Canada frames the election stakes around the anti-Netanyahu push, saying Bennett and Yair Lapid formalized their alliance and that their objective is to take back power from Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister who has held that office the longest in Israel, for a total of 16 years over the past 30 years.