At an inconvenient time for Netanyahu: Gaps between Israel and the US are deepening
Gaps between Israel and the administration of President Donald Trump are widening amid a lack of progress in negotiations regarding Lebanon, Gaza, and Iran. The US is pushing for an end to hostilities, while Israel insists on the complete disarmament of Hamas.
At a very inconvenient time for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the gaps between Israel and the United States are deepening. A Lebanese diplomatic source told the correspondent of the Al-Mayadeen channel, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, this morning (Monday) that "there are no plans for a new round of negotiations between Lebanon and Israel next month." The lack of progress on this front — as well as in Gaza and Iran — is causing disagreements between the administration of President Donald Trump and Israel.
In the main news edition last night, it was reported that the United States wants Israel to end the fighting on all three active fronts, a message conveyed by the commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), Admiral Brad Cooper, who visited Israel over the weekend. Regarding Iran, the IDF tells the Americans that Israel reserves the option to act if intelligence reveals that the Islamic Republic continues to race toward a nuclear weapon and the restoration of its ballistic missile system.
In Lebanon, the Americans want the IDF to withdraw from additional points in the security zone in the south of the country, and in Gaza, they want to see progress and the introduction of a multinational force, which currently includes several hundred soldiers from Morocco and Uganda. A senior IDF officer told Channel 13 this evening that the American message to the IDF is to move toward closing all three fronts.
Security officials have protested to the political echelon in recent days against the demand — which does not appear explicitly in the outline but arises in discussions between Israel and the US — to stop targeted killings and moderate the IDF's operations in the Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the agreement in Gaza at the beginning of the cabinet meeting yesterday and stated:
"Israel rejects the 15-point document. The IDF will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is disarmed, and when I say disarming Hamas — that means heavy weapons, less heavy weapons, all weapons. Real disarmament, not fictitious disarmament. We are now talking to the Americans about this issue."
The Prime Minister also said:
"The Americans have ideas, some of them are acceptable to us and some are not, and we know how to stand up to these things. We have proven it in the past and we are proving it today as well. In addition, the IDF will continue to thwart threats against our forces and our citizens. In the last two days, we have been flooded with a wave of rumors about Israeli weakness and Israeli withdrawals on all fronts. The most amusing thing is that these attacks come from people who preached withdrawing from the entire Gaza Strip, not entering Lebanon at all, and not striking Iran."
Regarding Iran, Netanyahu said:
"I greatly appreciate President Trump. He is the greatest of our friends in the White House. I greatly appreciate the historic partnership with the United States against Iran's attempts to arm itself with nuclear weapons. And I want to emphasize again: with an agreement or without an agreement, as long as I am Prime Minister, Iran will not have nuclear weapons. Because the existence of our dear state, the state of all of us, the existence of Israel, is not up for negotiation."
Regarding Lebanon, he said:
"In Lebanon, too, we hear all kinds of rumors. I want to clarify: in recent days, Israel has acted with force in Lebanon, eliminated terrorists, including on the Ali-Taher ridge. I cannot elaborate on this. We are in the midst of very important activity. We are working with prudence and wisdom. Both with determination and with wisdom together with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and are eliminating threats."
As recalled, last week senior officials in Israel told Channel 13 that the Prime Minister's Office was "shocked" following the publication of the emerging agreement outline with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which was first revealed on Channel 13. According to those officials, there is "great embarrassment" in the Prime Minister's circle.
