








https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/netanyahu-ceasefire-phase-2-largely-symbolic

ISRAEL’S far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that the United States’ announcement of the so-called ceasefire in Gaza advancing to its second phase is largely symbolic.
Israeli forces have killed more than 400 Palestinians since the ceasefire came into force on October 10, raising questions about whether phase two of the plan will bring any more respite for Gazans.
Speaking on Wednesday night with the parents of the last Israeli hostage whose remains are still in the coastal enclave, Mr Netanyahu said that the announcement of a governing committee of Palestinians as part of the second phase was merely a “declarative move,” rather than, as described by US envoy Steve Witkoff, a sign of progress.
Israeli police officer Ran Gvili’s parents had earlier pressed Mr Netanyahu not to advance the ceasefire until their son’s remains were returned, Israel’s Hostage and Missing Families Forum said earlier that day.
Mr Netanyahu told Mr Gvili’s parents that his return remained a top priority.
The announcement of the ceasefire’s second phase marked a significant step forward but left many questions unanswered.
They include the membership of a proposed apolitical governing committee of Palestinian experts and an international “board of peace.”
The committee’s composition has been co-ordinated with Israel, said an Israeli official speaking on the condition of anonymity.
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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/netanyahu-ceasefire-phase-2-largely-symbolic




Three Palestine Action-affiliated prisoners have announced the end of their hunger strike after the government decided not to award a £2bn contract to the Israeli arms company subsidiary Elbit Systems UK – with another four who had paused their protest choosing not to continue.
Fears had been growing for the welfare of those taking part. On Wednesday, Heba Muraisi, 31, would have been on day 73 of refusing food, the same number of days as reached by the Irish republican hunger striker Kieran Doherty, who survived the longest of 10 men who died in a 1981 action. The earliest death among the Irish republicans was after 46 days, raising fears about the risk to life of the prisoners in jail awaiting trial for offences relating to protests claimed by Palestine Action.
Among their demands had been to shut down Elbit Systems, a slogan used by Palestine Action in its campaign against the company’s UK sites.
Late on Wednesday, Prisoners for Palestine said the decision not to grant Elbit Systems UK the contract, under which it would have trained 60,000 British troops a year, fulfilled a key demand. It said the company had won more than 10 public contracts since 2012, and so the decision by the Ministry of Defence marked a shift in thinking among officials.
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The Guardian understands that Umar Khalid, 22, who resumed his hunger strike on Saturday after previously pausing it, is continuing to refuse food.
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Muraisi’s transfer back to HMP Bronzefield in Surrey had been accepted by HMP New Hall in Wakefield, to which she was moved last year, hundreds of miles from her family and friends. Her transfer had been another demand of the hunger strikers.
Prisoners for Palestine said Hoxha had been offered a meeting with the head of the joint extremism unit at her prison, which it said “orchestrates the prisoners’ treatment as ‘terrorists’”.
Another demand had been an end to the censorship of prisoners’ communications. The group said: “During the hunger strike, some of the prisoners started receiving bulk packages of withheld mail, and in one case received an apology from prison staff for a letter that was delayed by six months. Books on the topics of Gaza and feminism have also been given after months of waiting.
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See the original article at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jan/14/three-palestine-action-protesters-end-their-hunger-strike


