Benjamin Netanyahu's attempt to "block" the progress of the Gaza deal, as planned by Donald Trump, looks like a dangerous game for his own political survival.
Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to make it public that he rejects the latest peace plan for Gaza , which is supported by the US, blowing up what his close ally, Donald Trump, has been trying to build for a long time.
The initial announcement had been made just a few days earlier, on July 31, and the White House had placed particular emphasis on the agreement.
The relationship between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu has been deteriorating in recent times . Earlier this year, the two men reportedly had a particularly heated and abusive phone call, during which President Trump allegedly used harsh words for the Israeli prime minister.
Donald Trump is a president who does not easily tolerate what he perceives as disrespect, especially when it is publicly displayed on the international stage. Therefore, Netanyahu's stance could develop into a very dangerous political game for the Israeli prime minister , as Al Jazeera notes.
Hamas calls for full implementation of Trump's 15-point plan
Despite Netanyahu's attempt to block the agreement , Hamas is trying to push for its side and, as it states in a statement, states that it remains committed to the 15-point plan for the second phase of the ceasefire in Gaza.
He also said that the priority now is the full implementation of the agreement – the complete cessation of attacks against Palestinians, the withdrawal of Israeli troops, the opening of border crossings, and the entry of humanitarian aid, materials for housing the affected, and reconstruction materials.
The organization also called on mediators and guarantor countries to "assume their responsibilities" and prevent any "violations or defaults" that could derail the process.
Hamas stated that it will continue to participate "positively and responsibly" in the effort to complete the implementation of the agreement, "thus ensuring an end to the suffering of our people."
Democrats are increasingly distancing themselves from Israel – “Squeaks” also in the Republican camp
The Democratic primary elections have also seen a shift. Although AIPAC , the pro-Israel lobbying group in the US, has spent tens of millions of dollars on election campaigns, several of the candidates it has targeted for supporting the cutoff of US aid to Israel have nevertheless managed to win the primaries.
Democrats appear to be moving increasingly toward positions that favor the Palestinian side.
Donald Trump, on the other hand, maintains a very strong grip on the Republican Party. If he chooses to make the issue a central political issue and argue that the time has come to break with Israel , it is likely that many—though not all—Republicans will follow his line.
Benjamin Netanyahu is therefore betting that Donald Trump will not use his particularly strong influence in the Republican Party — Israel's strongest political ally in the US — to turn against him.
Gideon Levy: Netanyahu never planned to withdraw from Gaza
Gideon Levy, an Israeli journalist and columnist for the Haaretz newspaper, speaking to Al Jazeera, stated that Netanyahu's rejection of the agreement is unfolding exactly as the Israeli prime minister had planned.
"I don't think Netanyahu had even for a moment in his mind to withdraw from Gaza ," he said.
He says Netanyahu's initial agreement to participate in the US-brokered talks was simply to please the Americans. That's why, he argued, he had set "very vague terms" regarding Hamas's disarmament.
He pointed out that it had never been clear exactly how disarmament would take place nor who would have control of the process.
"It was a way to postpone any withdrawal. And now, as elections in Israel approach, he wants to show that he has not abandoned Gaza and that he has every intention of staying there , which was the truth from the beginning ," he said.
Beyond the issue of disarmament and withdrawal, Levy believes Netanyahu would likely find other reasons to reject the plan at a later stage. As he said, the peace plan does not even touch on the issue of opening Gaza , which would likely prove particularly sensitive for the Israeli government.
The bottom line, he added, is that now everything depends on Donald Trump. If Trump wants Israel to withdraw from Gaza, Netanyahu will have no choice but to comply – but for that to happen, Trump will have to put extremely strong pressure on Israel, Levy concluded.
EU: Trump's Gaza plan is 'the only plan there is'
The European Union is faced with a dilemma: on the one hand, it recognizes the Gaza Peace Council as a threat to the international order and, on the other, it sees it as the only diplomatic option available, according to Muhammad Shehada, author, political analyst and visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
"On the one hand, they understand that it was created to replace the multilateral system and the rules-based international order ," Shehada told Al Jazeera, describing the body as "a family business structure that replaces international law with the logic of agreements and transactions."
He said European capitals fear that the model could be applied to other cases, such as Venezuela, Iran, Ukraine and Greenland. They are also concerned about the presence of individuals they consider war criminals in the scheme , including Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin.
Despite these objections, the European Union still insists that Donald Trump's plan is "the only plan there is" and, therefore, believes it should cooperate with it rather than reject it, Sehanda said.
However, as he noted, there is also a paradoxical dimension: "With this specific roadmap for Gaza, a rare opportunity is now created for Europe to use it as leverage to promote measures that have until now been met with resistance from member states such as Germany, Italy and others."
These measures include the partial suspension of the trade agreement between the European Union and Israel, the ban on products originating from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, and the imposition of sanctions on Israeli ministers.
Netanyahu only sees the elections
But what only Netanyahu seems to care about is the elections. And rejecting the Gaza plan is part of the Israeli prime minister's election tactics.
Mitchell Barak, a former adviser to Netanyahu, believes that the Israeli prime minister's public rejection of the Gaza plan is largely linked to the upcoming elections in Israel.
Describing this stance as Netanyahu’s “initial position” and not a final decision, Barak pointed out that the prime minister announced the rejection during a cabinet meeting, in front of “his far-right government, which […] does not have much time left ,” as Al Jazeera highlights. In this way, he implied that the move was aimed more at Netanyahu’s electoral and political base than at Washington.
Barak said he still believes that "Israel will accept the Trump plan, sooner or later ," presenting the rejection as a matter of "sequence and timing" related to the disarmament of Hamas, and not as a sign of a permanent rupture with the United States.
He also argued that Netanyahu's real strong card ahead of the elections is his relationship with Donald Trump — "the best relationship any world leader has" — and stressed that Netanyahu "does not want to lose it."
