Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering the possibility of an open confrontation with the administration of US President Donald Trump over the issues of Gaza and Lebanon. This was reported by "Al-Monitor".
According to the publication's political sources in Israel, Netanyahu agreed, under pressure from the US administration, to advance Washington's plan on Gaza. However, Israel does not express confidence that Hamas will be disarmed by international stabilization forces.
It was reported that during a meeting between Netanyahu and Trump's special envoy, also his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, a 15-point plan on Gaza was discussed. The parties agreed that Israel would not yet withdraw its troops from the areas it currently controls, which constitute more than 50 percent of the territory. At the same time, it was stipulated that Israel would attack Hamas only if a direct threat to its security arises.
According to "Al-Monitor", these agreements are mainly related to political necessity. In particular, general elections are expected in Israel in October, and midterm elections in the US.
One of the publication's sources noted that Netanyahu is "on the edge of a cliff" and must decide whether or not to go into direct confrontation with the US administration over the Gaza and Lebanon issues.
At the same time, it is said that Netanyahu's relations with Trump are no longer as strong as before. It was noted that on the eve of the elections in Israel, the Prime Minister believes that an open confrontation with the US President could positively affect the rating of his "Likud" party from the point of view of protecting national security interests.
At the same time, during the last meeting with Kushner, Netanyahu maintained his position that Israeli troops cannot be withdrawn from Gaza until Hamas is disarmed.
According to an "Al-Monitor" source, so far both sides have achieved some progress: Trump seeks to preserve the achieved result in stopping the conflict between Israel and Hamas, while Netanyahu seeks to demand the disarmament of Hamas as a condition for withdrawing Israeli troops before the Knesset elections.
