Reports say US security contractors, Egyptian firm to be tasked with monitoring Netzarim corridor to ensure Palestinians traveling between southern and northern Gaza aren’t armed
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will visit Israel next week after first making a stop in Saudi Arabia, Israeli television reported Thursday.
According to Channel 12 news, Witkoff’s trip to Israel is expected to focus on negotiating the second phase of the hostage release and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the first stage of which took effect this Sunday.
His talks in Saudi Arabia, whose crown prince was the first foreign leader Trump spoke with since returning to office, are expected to address the administration’s efforts to broker a normalization agreement between Jerusalem and Riyadh.
While in the region, Witkoff is also planning to visit the Gaza Strip, which he confirmed publicly earlier this week.
“I’m actually going to be going over to Israel. I’m going to be part of an inspection team at the Netzarim Corridor, and also at the Philadelphi Corridor,” Witkoff said Wednesday in an interview with Fox News but did not give an exact timeline for when he’ll depart.
“That’s where you have outside overseers, sort of making sure that people are safe and people who are entering are not armed and no one has bad motivations,” Witkoff added.
He did not say who else might be part of the inspection teams, though reports Thursday by the New York Times and Axios new site said US security contractors will be responsible for overseeing the truce along the Netzarim Corridor as Palestinians travel between the south and north of the enclave, with their duties to include ensuring Palestinian cars are not being used to carry weapons.
Palestinians traveling on foot will not be subject to inspection, according to the agreement between Israel and Hamas, which also stipulates that they cannot be armed.
The deal also states that the inspection of vehicles “will be performed by a private company to be determined by the mediators in sync with the Israeli side, based on an agreed-upon mechanism.” The New York Times said one of the companies hired, Safe Reach Solutions, will be responsible for the operational management of crossings along the corridor, while another American firm and an Egyptian company will carry out the inspections. Axios named the other US company as UG Solutions.
“There may be additional members and nationalities in the future,” a source familiar with the matter told the news site.
Rubio cheers flow of aid into Gaza
Also Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held his first phone call with his Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa’ar, a day after speaking with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The US readout on Rubio’s call with Sa’ar was largely the same as the one released after he spoke to Netanyahu, though notably, it said America’s new top diplomat “welcomed continued flow of aid into Gaza,” indicating the issue will continue to be at the top of mind for the US under the new administration.
The readout on the call with Sa’ar also included Rubio’s praise for Israel’s “ongoing efforts to implement” the ceasefire with Hezbollah, as next week’s deadline for Israeli troops to withdraw from Lebanon quickly approaches.
Rubio also “conveyed the mutual understanding that the pursuit of peace in the region requires addressing the threats posed by Iran,” the State Department added.
The Israeli statement on the call said Sa’ar thanked Rubio for the steps Trump has taken in his first days in office.
“I expressed Israel’s appreciation for President Trump’s decisive executive actions against the International Criminal Court, the Houthis, and removing the unjust sanctions against Israelis in Judea and Samaria,” Sa’ar was quoted as saying.
The foreign minister said the pair also spoke about “the politicized ‘international legal institutions’ and the steps that must be taken in that regard,” an apparent reference to actions against Israel in both the ICC and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the war with Hamas in Gaza, which was started by the terror group’s October 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel.
Sa’ar said he invited Rubio to visit Israel and the pair agreed to meet soon. Israel is “committed to working hard and closely with President Trump and his administration to deal with our common challenges and to expand our alliances,” he added.
Jacob Magid and Amy Spiro contributed to this report.
Content retrieved from: https://www.timesofisrael.com/trumps-mideast-envoy-to-reportedly-stop-in-israel-after-visiting-saudi-arabia/.
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