Prime Minister Trump Kills Israel Right’s Dreams
If anyone still doubted who makes policy for Israel, last month should have removed the illusion. President Donald Trump declared he would not support annexation of the West Bank and then imposed his own 20-point plan for Gaza—effectively crushing the Israeli right’s dreams of reoccupation, resettlement, and “finishing off” Hamas. Once again, the so-called “most pro-Israel president” bent Israel to his will.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recognized his authority even before Trump took office by agreeing to the ceasefire in January that he had opposed. Netanyahu also agreed to a truce with Hezbollah before it had been defeated. Israel was permitted to operate in South Lebanon—but barred from striking Beirut. Operations in Iran ended before ballistic missile sites were destroyed. Time and again, Trump has set the ceiling on Israeli action.
His Gaza plan is no different. It directly contradicts Netanyahu’s repeated pledge to destroy Hamas. It ends any far-right fantasy of re-establishing Jewish settlements in Gaza or expelling the population. It consigns humanitarian aid back to the UN, ignoring Israel’s carefully constructed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Governance will pass to a “Board of Peace” chaired in name by Trump but run in practice by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair until the Palestinian Authority has completed its reform program. Security will shift from the IDF to an International Stabilization Force—an idea Israel has consistently rejected, knowing no foreign force will ever defend its citizens as the IDF does. And hovering over the plan is the shadow of Palestinian statehood. Though not stated outright, the language about a “credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination” and a “political horizon” is unmistakable.
So how did we arrive here?
The answer is simple: Trump. He wants the war in Gaza to end. He wants the Nobel Peace Prize. And Israel has little leverage. Trump is a transactional president, and the Arabs have the currency he values: money. Netanyahu’s letter nominating Trump for the Nobel was a nice gesture, but it couldn’t compete with Qatar’s $400 million jet, promises to buy 200 Boeing planes, and $500 billion pledged in US investments. Is it any wonder that instead of pressuring Qatar to expel Hamas leaders, Trump made Netanyahu grovel before the Emir and apologize for trying to kill them?
This plan was not hatched in Jerusalem but in Trump’s private huddles with Arab and Muslim leaders at the UN and his envoy’s negotiations behind Israel’s back. While Hamas complained the plan was a series of Israeli talking points, it actually shredded them. Hamas operatives are granted safe passage, humanitarian aid will surge under UN supervision, the Palestinian Authority will take over Gaza, Arab troops replace the IDF, no annexation, no expulsion, and Palestinian self-determination back on the table.
Netanyahu promised Israelis that Hamas would be destroyed and that only military victory could free the hostages. Trump said no. You can have the hostages, but the war must end. And if Hamas agrees, most Israelis will embrace the deal in gratitude not to Netanyahu but to Prime Minister Trump.
