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You are listening to an art media podcast.
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It's Friday, july 31st. This episode was recorded at 7pm new york time on Thursday. I'm deborah pardes and this is arc news daily. President Trump announced last night that Hamas agreed to give up its weapons. That's a big headline that needs to be parsed out to understand the implications, especially for Israel. His post on Truth Social said the Board of Peace, the body overseeing the plan, reached an historic agreement for the complete disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza. He said this is, quote, a monumental step toward lasting peace and security. An Egyptian outlet reported a few hours before that the signing of this agreement could happen in their country as soon as next week. The framework was designed during the talks held there recently with Hamas leadership. According to earlier reports on the agreement between the terror organization and Qatar, Turkey and Egypt, Hamas would give up all of its weapons over a six to eight month period and also hand over maps of its tunnels, its weapons factories and its arms depots. A new Palestinian police force, vetted by Israel's Shin Bet would be trained and deployed. The weapons would be held by a technocratic Palestinian Palestinian government, but will stay in Gaza. In return, according to the sources from the negotiations room, Hamas members would get amnesty and be allowed to stay in Gaza and Israel would pull back to what's called the yellow line. Bulgarian diplomat Nikolai Mladinov is leading Gaza's Board of Peace initiative, and he explained the importance of Hamas's disarming at a press conference in Jerusalem last May.
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One authority, one law, one weapon. This is a Palestinian principle. It is, in fact a universal principle of good governance. It is something that we cannot compromise on.
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So why is this happening now? Hamas was under financial pressure from the mediators, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey. A source involved told Axios the strategy had been to choke off the group's money. And in their words, quote, we think we've managed to bring Hamas to a place where they can't say no. It might also be coming from another direction. Israeli Channel 13 reported that the Hamas leadership delivered a direct letter to the White House about two weeks ago. In the letter, reportedly Hamas expressed a willingness to disarm and relinquish power, but only if Israel agrees to a 10 to 15 year ceasefire. Last night, Trump promised Israel will have the security it deserves and added, quote, the threat that emerged from Gaza on October 7th will not be allowed to rebuild. Trump specifically declared that Israeli forces will withdraw as disarmament is completed. But would Israel agree to trust the terror organization on these new terms. As of this recording, Jerusalem hasn't published any official response to Trump's post. Here is Prime Minister Netanyahu from an interview on ABC on Wednesday Hamas has
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to be disarmed and Gaza has to be demilitarized. That's our plan. Disarm, demilitarize Gaza and de radicalize it. That's what is needed to happen in Gaza to give them a new life and to give a chance for peace.
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American officials told Reuters that there is close cooperation with Israel, but it's unclear how this framework would be able to proceed. An Israeli official issued a statement earlier yesterday saying that the Board of Peace's disarmament proposal did not meet Jerusalem's demand for Gaza's complete demilitarization. The Jerusalem Post quoted a diplomatic source explaining that Israel rejected the plan because it wants Hamas's weapons removed from Gaza entirely, not just stored inside it under international guard. According to one Axios report, Israel is also suspicious of Qatar and Turkey, accusing both of helping Hamas preserve its political role. Nurit Yohanan, a Palestinian correspondent for the Times of Israel, is skeptical too.
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The important thing to remember here is that even if an agreement is signed, it's unlikely to be implemented. Israel opposed linking Hamas disarmament to a full withdrawal from Gaza and an end to military operations, conditions Hamas is expected to insist on. On top of that, Israel is currently in the middle of an election campaign. It's difficult to see the government taking dramatic political steps, such as reaching a long term agreement with Hamas.
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U.S. central Command carried out what it called a heavy wave of strikes against Iran late Wednesday night, hitting dozens of Revolutionary Guard targets, including command centers, missile and drone facilities and coastal surveillance sites. CENTCOM said it was responding to an Iranian missile attack on U.S. forces in the region a day earlier, which was intercepted in the current phase of the fighting. Iran and its allies are also not only threatening Hormuz, but expanding to the Bab el Mandab Strait in the Red Sea. The Houthis in Yemen are blocking a crucial route there for Saudi oil exports and further threatening the global economy. In all that chaos, Gulf states have become increasingly frustrated and are looking past Washington for help. According to a Reuters report published yesterday, several Gulf governments are lobbying China to use its economic leverage over Iran to reopen both straits. Three regional sources told Reuters that the war has exposed the limits of American power and see China as having real influence in the room. China is both a major buyer of Gulf oil and Iran's biggest trading partner. They've reportedly been pushing Pakistan to mediate between Washington and Tehran to restart peace talks, and they also held direct talks with the Houthi movement to allow their tankers to sail through the Red Sea. New reports also say that Iran is set to receive about 400 shoulder fire air defense missiles launchers made in China. But beyond that, China hasn't taken a major public role in the war and isn't likely to. One analyst told Reuters that Beijing's main priority is preserving relationships across the region rather than risking diplomatic fallout by openly aligning with one side. What it has done, though, is quietly prop up the global oil market. When Iran shut down Hormuz in February, experts predicted oil could spike past 150 or even $200 a barrel. Nearly five months later, it's barely topped $100. The reason appears to be China. According to new reporting by the Atlantic and Axios, they say China cut its oil imports by roughly half compared to pre war levels, effectively easing the oil shortage. Nobody outside China exactly knows why they did this, whether it was simply self preservation or an attempt to intervene in an oil crisis. As one energy it for the last 50 plus years, whenever there was an oil shock, the first thing the US President did was call Riyadh. Maybe the place everyone needs to call now is Beijing. I'm Deborah Pardes and this is Ark News Daily. If you know someone who might appreciate this episode, please share it with them. Shabbat Shalom.
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Foreign.
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Hi, it's Dan Sinor. Israel is heading into one of its most consequential election, and this time the whole world is watching closely. Hot takes and daily noise are pretty much guaranteed to populate your media diet. But as with any election, there's a deeper story about identity, religion, democracy and what kind of country Israelis want to live in. That's why ARC Media launched Israel Votes, a special initiative across Call Me Back For Heaven's Sake and ARK News Daily. You'll hear from the leading candidates shaping the race along with analysis and reporting from two of Israel's leading political analysts, ARC Media contributors Nadavael and Amit Segal. Join us for Israel Votes, your front row seat to the election that could define Israel's future. Go to arkmedia.org forward/votes to watch and listen. See you there.