Trump's Envoy Returns to Doha; Fatah: We Will Not Allow Hamas to Destroy the West Bank

Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East has returned to Doha after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; simultaneously, the Fatah movement warned that it would not allow the adventures of the extremist group Hamas to destroy the West Bank as well. Steve Witkoff, the special envoy of the elected President of the United States, met and discussed with Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Saturday, January 22. Israeli media reported that he set off again for Doha, the capital of Qatar, after this meeting. Mr. Witkoff had met with Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the Prime Minister of Qatar, a day earlier in Doha and was involved in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations. It was also announced on Saturday evening that Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to send a high-ranking delegation to the Doha negotiations. This delegation will include David Barnea, head of Mossad, Ofir Falk, senior advisor to the Prime Minister, and Nitzan Alon, representative of the Israeli army on hostages. The dispatch of these senior officials to Doha is seen as a sign of progress in the ceasefire and hostage release negotiations. No official details of the discussions between Donald Trump's special envoy and Benjamin Netanyahu have been released, but Axios and some Israeli media reported that Mr. Witkoff emphasized that the elected President of the United States wants to reach an agreement before January 20 and inauguration day. According to Channel 12 Israel, Steve Witkoff stressed that both sides must show flexibility to reach an agreement. White House officials have expressed cautious optimism in recent weeks about achieving a Gaza ceasefire agreement before January 20. Meanwhile, the Israeli army reported the deaths of four of its soldiers and the wounding of six others in the Gaza Strip. According to the Israeli army, these soldiers were hit by a bomb and gunfire in northern Beit Hanoun on Saturday morning. Thus, the number of Israeli soldiers killed in ground operations in the Gaza Strip has reached 402. The Israeli army has intensified its attacks in northern Gaza in recent weeks and is now focused on Beit Hanoun after Jabalia and Beit Lahia. On the other hand, Tel Aviv witnessed weekly protests on Saturday evening, with anti-government protesters calling for an agreement for the release of hostages. On Saturday, the Fatah movement, the largest political group in the West Bank, emphasized that it would not allow the adventures of the extremist group Hamas to destroy this region as well. Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. The Fatah movement, led by Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, stated in a statement that Hamas has "placed itself at the service of Iran and other regional axes" and "provided excuses for the occupiers," leading to a devastating war against the people of Gaza. This political entity also accused the extremist group Hamas of "trying to continue its disastrous policy for Palestinians by creating security chaos in the West Bank." In recent weeks, the Palestinian Authority has been taking security measures in the Jenin camp to weaken Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other armed Palestinian groups in this camp. Jenin is considered one of the main centers of armed Palestinian groups in the West Bank. The current crisis began after the extremist group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7 of last year, killing about 1,200 people and taking nearly 250 hostage. In response to Hamas's attack last year, Israel launched a military operation across the Gaza Strip, which, according to officials under Hamas, has so far resulted in over 46,000 deaths.