US media reported on the 9th, citing a senior American official, that the White House “doesn’t really care” about Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s rejection of the Gaza peace plan, describing his stance as a “political necessity” born out of the election cycle.
Barak Ravid, a journalist with the US-based Axios news site, posted on social media that day, saying the senior official told him the White House “understands Netanyahu’s political needs.” The official said, “We have no problem with that, as long as he (Netanyahu) continues to do what we ask — especially showing restraint in strikes on Gaza.”
Looking back at the history of US-Israel relations, this is probably the lowest point of American leverage over Israel.
The post also cited another US official saying that during a phone call last week with Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, Netanyahu said that despite his skepticism, he was still “willing to give the ’15-point plan’ a chance,” and promised to curb strikes on Gaza so that the demilitarization process could get underway.
According to multiple Israeli media outlets, Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting on the 9th that Israel rejects the Gaza peace plan put forward by the so-called “peace committee” initiated by the US, insisting that Israeli forces will not withdraw from Gaza until Hamas is truly disarmed. Separately, Israel’s Channel 12 reported on the 9th that Netanyahu had agreed to a limited troop withdrawal from three areas near Rafah in southern Gaza but changed his mind later that day.
President Trump announced on social media on July 30 that the “peace committee” had reached an agreement on the “full disarmament” of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza. The committee released a 15-point peace plan the following day, under which Hamas would disarm and Israel would withdraw from Gaza in phases.
