Israel Violated Gaza Plan and Trump Exposes Its Influence

An Israeli official acknowledged that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer initially agreed to implement part of the roadmap for the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, including the establishment of a trial zone in Rafah free of Hamas movement, before Israel retracted its approval and adopted a complete rejection of the “15 Points” plan proposed by the Peace Council led by US President Donald Trump.

Channel 12 reported today, quoting the official, that “Netanyahu and Dermer initially agreed to this, but the position has now changed,” adding, “In retrospect, it was a mistake to agree to this step from the outset.” The official continued, “The Prime Minister did not initially realize the severity of the situation and only now began to understand its meaning,” noting that “difficult talks took place in recent days between Netanyahu and officials in the Trump administration.” He stated that Israeli officials had pressured Netanyahu to stick to the position rejecting the plan, emphasizing that the current Israeli stance rejects any gradual disarmament process.

Amid escalating disagreements between him and Netanyahu over the future of the Gaza war, with accusations that the Israeli prime minister is attempting to escalate on the ground to gain political leverage ahead of the elections scheduled for October next year, the US President, in new comments made in an interview with “Real America’s Voice” late Monday into Tuesday, stated that the political influence enjoyed by Israel and Jews in the United States over the past decades has seen a significant decline. He added that “the biggest change I have seen in a quarter of a century” is what has happened to Israel and Jews, pointing out that they once possessed “the strongest lobby in Washington.”

Meanwhile, Israeli sources reported that the Netanyahu government informed Washington it is ready to negotiate an agreement that would halt direct targeting operations in Gaza, but conditioned this on exempting everyone who participated in the October 7, 2013 attack.

In a related development, the occupation forces blew up a Palestinian home today in the village of Tall, north of the West Bank, where a Palestinian was killed during a clash with settlers.