Board of Peace envoy meets with Netanyahu on Gaza disarmament deal, urges halt to strikes

JERUSALEM, Israel -- The Board of Peace official overseeing Gaza’s postwar transition met Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a statement, in part to discuss a new disarmament deal the board reached with Hamas. Nikolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza, held “constructive and detailed” talks with the prime minister and his team, the Board of Peace said in a statement.“The goal is clear and is not in question: the complete decommissioning of weapons in the Strip and the transition away from rule by the gun to civilian governance,” it said. According to two people familiar with the meeting, Mladenov also pressed Netanyahu to halt Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip. Mladenov and his team, including senior adviser Aryeh Lightstone, are pressuring Israel to stop striking Gaza as they push ahead with the agreement to decommission the weapons held by Hamas. In a statement Monday, Hamas said that the group and the various Palestinian factions “remain committed to what was agreed regarding the implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, including all parties’ obligations.” It added that the group is awaiting “a clear and official re...