Trump Shoving Netanyahu Would Be a Mistake

President Trump, they way his foes tell it, will finally pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the Gaza war. That wish has periodically popped up ever since Hamas launched its October 7, 2023, massacres. The genre’s latest manifestation involves a new plan that Mr. Trump presented to Arab and Muslim leaders this week. The participants loved it. They’re eager for the president to give Mr. Netanyahu a shove. That would be a mistake. The first element in the Trump plan is a release of all 48 hostages held by Hamas and its allies, including 20 living ones. The terrorists see these hostages as their ace in the hole, and we fail to see what incentive they have for giving it up at the start of a war-ending process. Following a “permanent” cease-fire, the plan also calls for “a governing mechanism in Gaza without Hamas,” according to Axios. Unlikely, to say the least.Another feature of the plan, reportedly, is a partial involvement of the Palestinian Authority in ruling Gaza. Mr. Netanyahu, though, might reject that, as he has “repeatedly insisted that his far-right government will not work with the authority or allow it to be involved in postwar Gaza,” as the Financial Times puts it. Like many other publications, the FT indicates in its reporting that the stumbling block to ending the war will be Bibi.To drive the point home, the British newspaper helpfully adds that “so far Trump has shown little appetite to use the U.S.’s leverage over Israel to pressure Netanyahu to end the war. But that would be tested if the veteran Israeli leader — who depends on far-right allies — were to reject Trump’s plan.” Mr. Netanyahu is scheduled to address the United Nations on Friday morning, and he might end such speculation in that speech. Then again, he might not. The Israeli premier will be traveling to Washington Monday for his fourth meeting with Mr. Trump there. That might further shed light on what the Trump plan actually entails. Will the Palestinian Authority own Gaza when the war ends? Two diplomats tell our Benny Avni that Mr. Trump, in his Tuesday meeting with Arab leaders, did not specifically name the terror-tainted, corrupt, and unpopular Palestinian Authority. Arab diplomats mostly favor one of the plan’s features: At the White House Mr. Trump said Thursday he would “not allow” Israel to annex Judea and Samaria. Mr. Netanyahu has promised a retaliation for this week’s French-led mass recognition of a Palestinian “state,” though he did not specify in what form. If Mr. Trump pushes his Israeli guest on that issue, Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition might collapse. Would that end the Gaza war?Not a chance. As has been the case since October 7, Europeans, the UN, and many in the press have opined that Mr. Netanyahu is prolonging the war for political reasons. The reality is that wars have two sides. And “I’ve been on the side of Israel really my whole life,” Mr. Trump told President Emmanuel Macron Tuesday. Those who want him to put the onus for ending the war on Mr. Netanyahu alone could well be disappointed, yet again.

Trump Shoving Netanyahu Would Be a Mistake

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