Trump is about to be truly tested by Netanyahu – and Maga is watching

5 comments

1. The success or failure of Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza will be decided in the coming days and weeks by how far the US is willing to put sustained pressure on Israel to achieve a permanent stop to its military action.

   Trump called on Israel to halt its bombing of Gaza after Hamas agreed to free 48 Israeli hostages alive and dead in return for the freeing of 250 Palestinians serving life sentences and 1,700 others in prison. Gazans remain fearful that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will unilaterally terminate any ceasefire after a hostage release, as he did before in March. Indirect talks between Hamas and Israel [about the next stages of the plan are expected to begin in Egypt on Monday](https://inews.co.uk/news/five-things-know-gaza-ceasefire-breakthrough-five-minutes-3959016?ico=in-line_link).

   The Gaza war is within a couple of days of its second anniversary and has gone on for such a long time primarily because the US gave Israel unprecedented near unconditional military, political and diplomatic support. This makes the present conflict different from past Israeli wars, which Washington ultimately ended by using its decisive leverage over Israeli decision making.

   It may be over-optimistic to assume that Trump is now returning to the traditional American policy of supporting, but restraining Israel. Any thought-through change of course by Trump would be out of keeping with his track record of pursuing a mercurial and chaotic course on any issue.

   He changes his mind frequently, often because his lack of knowledge about the issues in dispute makes it easy for others to manipulate him. In keeping with this amateurism, he has relied on  the real estate magnate, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to draw up the 20-point plan.

   It is a measure of its vagueness and fluidity that nobody knows how many points are currently being addressed. Among crucial questions unsettled are when and where will the Israel Defence Forces withdraw and when and how will Hamas disarm itself? A vital question is how much desperately needed food and medical aid, if any, will the IDF allowed into Gaza? Will Palestinians, who have been driven out of the ruins of their homes by Israeli air strikes and ground offensives, [be allowed to return or will they remain living in tents in over-crowded enclaves](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/trump-netanyahu-initial-withdrawal-gaza-3958875?ico=in-line_link)?

   Many warn that “the devil being in the details” of the plan, but this understates the problem which is that all-important features of it remain undecided. Though Netanyahu and Hamas have in theory both accepted the Trump plan, they are for a large part motivated by a wish to avoid being blamed by him for sabotaging it. So far it remains a skeleton framework to which all parties can agree because it is open to interpretation and negotiation about what they are agreeing to.  

2. Has Hamas already agreed to all 20 points? I thought they did not agree on total disarmament and didn’t like where the Israeli army will eventually park itself?

3. Well, that pretty flashy and pointless header. Trump will not be “tested by Netanyahu”, Netanyahu will do what he will be told, he can not afford to loose last alliance in the world, In a sense Trump will be tested by Hamas, they can kill that deal if will go too far. Maga is also have little to do with it and that just hiding very interesting real question of a roots of this plan. One can **speculate**, that one of those roots is actually from US Jewish community itself.

4. In practice, Hamas hasn’t agreed to anything. It has agreed to negotiate and voice their own unrealistic demands.

   Israel should keep the military pressure on, even during negotiations, until an actual agreement is actually reached.

   The only appropiate outcome of this war should be Hamas’ complete and unconditional surrender.

5. Why is a general interest mag sharing its own articles here?

   I remember a time where rGeopolitics mods would have deleted this for low quality

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