By Adam Rasgon
President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel today, according to a spokesperson for Netanyahu.
The visit by the envoy, Steven Witkoff, was set to take place as Israeli and Hamas officials prepared for a new round of negotiations aimed at cementing the current ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and allowing more exchanges of hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
Witkoff played an important role in brokering the initial ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, teaming with officials from the Biden administration, Qatar and Egypt in the days before Trump’s inauguration.
The ceasefire, now in its 10th day, has remained mostly intact, though Hamas and Israel hit some hurdles last weekend.
On Saturday, Israel said it would prevent the movement of Palestinians to the north of Gaza until Hamas set plans for the release of Arbel Yehud, one of the last civilian female hostages held in Gaza. Israeli officials said the agreement had required Yehud to be released Saturday.
A day later, the issue was resolved when Hamas confirmed Yehud and other hostages would be freed this week, and Israel agreed to allow displaced Palestinians to return to the north starting Monday.
Netanyahu’s office said Trump had invited the Israeli leader to visit the White House on Feb. 4.
During his trip, Witkoff was also expected to visit the Gaza Strip. Last week, he told Fox News that he would go to Gaza to be a part of an inspection team visiting two parts of the coastal enclave.
“We have to make sure the implementation goes well,” he said.
It was still unclear whether Witkoff would meet with officials in Ramallah from the Palestinian Authority, which has limited autonomy over parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
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