YONI BEN MENACHEM -- Senior security officials say that mediators have begun talks in Sharm el-Sheikh on the next steps in the agreement to end the war in the Gaza Strip.
They note that the next steps in implementing the American plan are expected to be particularly complex and difficult. They include establishing a new management mechanism for Gaza, integrating trained Palestinian police forces, and disarming Hamas – a task that is met with fierce resistance from the organization.
Another issue that is causing controversy is the question of international supervision of the new Palestinian body that will be established to manage the Strip.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said in an interview with Fox News yesterday that "the next steps after the end of the fighting will be extremely difficult," and claimed that "a large part of the discussions on the second phase have been postponed in order to ensure the success of the first phase," which was signed in Sharm el-Sheikh last Thursday.