Day 516 - Arab states plan for Gaza, are frustrated with PA

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute
audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and
the Jewish world.


US bureau chief Jacob
Magid joins host Jessica
Steinberg for today's Daily Briefing.


Following US President Donald Trump's State of the Union address
on Tuesday, in the presence of several recently released Hamas
hostages, Magid discusses that Trump did not mention any of the
former Israeli hostages by name, although some were in the
audience.


Magid speaks about his interview with a senior Qatari official
who emphasized the need to stick to the current hostage deal and
that any new ideas won't work, noting that Hamas won't accept
releasing hostages en masse as suggested by the US, unless
there's an end to the war.


He reviews the much-anticipated summit of Arab states, which
gathered to discuss alternatives to reconstructing Gaza, not
aligning with Trump's plan of relocating Gazans. The current
plan, led by Egypt, will have technocrats ruling Gaza for an
interim period and dividing the area into zones before handing it
over to the Palestinian Authority.


Magid also discusses the positioning of the Palestinian Authority
on the Gaza plans and the frustration of Arab countries with PA
President Mahmoud Abbas, as they try to get him to be more
flexible, or at least not be an obstacle to the planning in Gaza.


Finally, Magid briefly looks at prisoner payment reform
after an interview with a senior Palestinian Authority official,
who spoke of a threat to cut ties with the Trump administration
if the US president advances with his plan to take over Gaza.


Please see today's ongoing liveblog for
more updates.


For further reading:


‘We are bringing back our hostages from Gaza,’ Trump says
in address to Congress


As Israel, US align on new hostage proposal, Qatar urges
sticking to existing framework


Aiming to stymie Trump’s ‘Riviera’ vision, Arab leaders
endorse $53 billion Gaza plan


Seeking funds abroad, Abbas ally touts prisoner payment
reform that’s ‘unpopular’ at home


Feeling heat from Trump to ‘solve’ Gaza, Arab states
losing patience with PA’s Abbas


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podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.


IMAGE: A tent camp for displaced Palestinians is set up amid
destroyed buildings in the west of Al-Shati camp, west of Gaza
City, on Monday, March 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)


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