Summary
- US
envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Gaza Strip. - Visit
took place on second day of ceasefire with Hamas. - They
toured IDF base in Gaza to confirm troop withdrawal.
One day after Israel and the
Palestinian militant group Hamas agreed to a ceasefire under Trump’s peace
plan, the Israeli military released images and footage of the field trip on
Saturday.
Also in attendance was US Central
Command Admiral Brad Cooper.
Israel controls all access to the
Gaza Strip and has enforced a ground, air, and sea blockade.
High-ranking government officials
rarely visit, and overseas journalists are consistently refused independent
access even when they repeatedly ask for it via editorial offices and press
associations.
A few weeks after the war-starting
October 7 terrorist strikes on Israel by Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu paid
a visit to the region in November 2023.
In February, Roberta Metsola,
president of the European Parliament, visited Gaza. She was the first prominent
EU politician to visit the region in almost a decade, the parliament said.
Which specific terms were included
in the phase-one agreement?
Strengthened enforcement and legal
protections for trade secrets, patents (including pharmaceuticals),
geographical indications, trademarks, and combatting counterfeit goods.
Prohibited the forcing or pressuring
of foreign companies to transfer technology as a condition for market access;
required voluntary and market-based technology licensing agreements. China
committed to purchasing an additional $40 billion annually in U.S.
agricultural, food, and seafood products by 2021, with specific measures to
reduce regulatory barriers for U.S. exports.
Enhanced Chinese market access for
U.S. financial services firms including banking, insurance, and asset
management; accelerated removal of foreign ownership caps for securities firms.
