President Trump’s public ultimatum to the Hamas this week and his disputed plan to take over the Gaza Strip have left the Israeli government in a state of confusion and disarray, according to Israeli officials speaking to Axios.
Trump has taken a far more aggressive public stance on the Gaza Strip than Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a high-ranking Israeli official told Axios, citing a meeting of the security cabinet on Tuesday. “The atmosphere among the ministers was that the Israeli government can’t be softer than Trump on this issue” the official said.
President Trump recently demanded the release of all hostages by Saturday, in response to a Hamas announcement that it would not release any more hostages until Israel complies with the agreement. Israel joined Trump’s demand on Tuesday evening, after a security cabinet meeting, although the government’s position in Tel Aviv remained unclear the next day.
Sources in the government made conflicting statements to Israeli media, initially saying the ministers supported Trump’s demand for the release of all hostages by Saturday and later stating that Israel was demanding the Hamas release the remaining nine hostages within a few days, as part of the initial phase of the agreement.
Radical members of Netanyahu’s government were particularly emboldened by Trump’s rhetoric, with some now convinced that they need not worry about a withdrawal from the Gaza Strip or further negotiations with the Hamas.
“There was a sense of euphoria in the room, as if all our problems in the Gaza Strip had been solved just because Trump said something” an official said, expressing concerns that this euphoria could lead to the collapse of the first phase of the Gaza agreement, possibly as early as the weekend.