Israeli Analysts: Netanyahu's Government Bets on Failure of Trump's Plan to Regain Control of Gaza

Two Israeli analysts believe that Benjamin Netanyahu's government hopes for the "failure" of the second phase of US President Donald Trump's plan for Gaza, with the aim of regaining full control of the strip, according to Hebrew media reports today, Friday. These analytical readings come as the United States began implementing the second phase of the plan in mid-January, despite repeated Israeli demands for its postponement.

The second phase of Trump's plan, consisting of 20 clauses, includes reopening the Rafah crossing, disarming Hamas and other Palestinian factions, implementing an additional withdrawal of Israeli army forces, and initiating reconstruction efforts. However, a gap in visions emerges; Netanyahu's government stipulates the completion of disarmament before any reconstruction begins, while Washington insists on implementing the steps in parallel.

Amos Harel, military analyst for "Haaretz" newspaper, explained that current Israeli policy is betting on the collapse of American efforts to impose a new security and political reality. He added that the Israeli right hopes to receive a "green light" from President Trump to attempt to regain effective control and forcibly disarm Hamas, a path Netanyahu might choose if it guarantees his stay in power and electoral gains.

Harel indicated that the Trump administration gave Hamas a deadline of approximately 100 days for the organization to disarm, and in case of failure, Washington would have to intervene or leave the task to Israel. The analyst revealed that the Israeli army has already prepared operational plans to control the strip in the event of the agreement's collapse, with current directives not to obstruct implementation to avoid angering the US administration.

For his part, Nahum Barnea, analyst for "Yedioth Ahronoth" newspaper, confirmed that Netanyahu is awaiting an "explosion" resulting from Hamas's refusal to voluntarily surrender its weapons, paving the way for a resumption of fighting, occupation of the strip, and remaining there. Barnea warned of the difficulty of this option, noting that Hamas still controls the population despite two years of fierce war and heavy losses.

It is worth noting that the current ceasefire agreement came after a devastating war that resulted in the martyrdom of more than 71,000 Palestinians and the injury of 171,000 others, in addition to massive destruction affecting 90% of the infrastructure, in a humanitarian catastrophe whose reconstruction cost the United Nations estimated at about 70 billion dollars.