Trump floats hopes of Gaza peace progress as Netanyahu begins visit | Benjamin Netanyahu

Donald Trump hopes to reach the next phase of his Gaza peace plan “very quickly” but said Hamas must disarm while hosting Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago on Monday.

Netanyahu’s visit to Florida comes amid renewed pressure from officials in Washington to make concessions to Israel in order to move towards a second phase of rebuilding Gaza as a demilitarized zone under international control.

Asked by journalists how quickly this could be achieved, Trump replied: “Very quickly. As quickly as we can, but there has to be disarmament, you know… Hamas has to be disarmed. Otherwise, very quickly.”

The two went to a lunch meeting at Mar-a-Lago with their delegations. Israeli officials and analysts said Netanyahu is expected to tell Trump that Hamas must return the remains of the last remaining Israeli hostage in Gaza before the next phases of the stalled ceasefire can be implemented.

The family of Ran Gvili, the last person whose remains were not returned, also joined the visiting delegation of the Israeli prime minister and will meet with officials in Washington at the end of this week.

An Israeli official in Netanyahu’s circle told Reuters that before proceeding with the later stages of Trump’s plan, the prime minister will demand Hamas return the remains of all hostages in Gaza, as required by the ceasefire agreement.

Speaking to reporters, Trump incorrectly said that “almost” every hostage was released because of him and his team, whereas “none” were released during the Joe Biden administration. In fact, according to fact-checking site Snopes, Hamas has released a total of 138 hostages as a result of agreements brokered by the Biden administration.

The second phase entails the deployment of an interim authority of non-aligned Palestinian technocrats to govern the Palestinian territories and an international stabilization force (ISF) of thousands of soldiers. Israel has serious concerns about both.

Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer, was seriously injured and subsequently kidnapped during a Hamas raid on Israel in October 2023 that triggered the conflict. It is unclear whether he died from injuries sustained during the raid or in Gaza. Hundreds of people gathered on Saturday night He traveled to Tel Aviv to demand that Israel not compromise on advancing the ceasefire agreement until his body is returned.

Lianne Pollak-David, a former Israeli military intelligence officer and peace negotiator in the prime minister’s office, said the failure to return Gvili’s remains was a serious problem. “Netanyahu and the Israelis, as a people, will definitely not accept this,” he said.

Since October, Hamas has released 20 living hostages and returned the bodies of 27 dead hostages. Some observers see the insistence on the return of Gvili’s remains as a stalling tactic to allow Israeli military forces to remain in the 53% of Gaza they currently control.

On Friday, US news outlet Axios reported that the Trump administration wanted to announce a Palestinian technocratic government for Gaza and the ISF as soon as possible, and that senior Trump officials were infuriated “that Netanyahu has taken steps that would undermine the fragile ceasefire and stall the peace process.”

Britain-based analyst and former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy said Netanyahu had no intention of withdrawing further from Gaza or allowing any international force to deter Israeli military action.

“He thinks he has a lot of cards to play yet and what remains of Gvili is the easiest card to play, but there are other cards as well,” Levy said.

Netanyahu was also expected to tell Trump that Israel is ready to restart the war in Gaza to force Hamas to surrender its weapons, as required by the ceasefire agreement.

“Netanyahu knows exactly what he wants for Christmas; more of the same. Israeli troops remain in 51% of Gaza and periodically attack Hamas… the shadow of withdrawal does not loom over him. None of this warrants condemnation of Israel.” [Trump] Amit Segal, a well-known journalist close to Netanyahu, wrote on Monday: “The plan itself and Trump can very easily justify Israel’s long lingering on Hamas’ reluctance to disarm.”

Hamas has a large stock of small arms, but only a fraction of the heavy weapons that made possible its surprise attack on southern Israel in 2023, in which 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and 250 were kidnapped.

In the ensuing Israeli offensive, more than 70,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed and large areas of Gaza were left in ruins. Nearly 400 Palestinians lost their lives in Israeli fire Since the October ceasefire.

In recent weeks, Hamas has successfully established its authority over the parts of Gaza it controls through a series of executions. raids and beatings targeting rival power brokers, Israeli collaborators, and criminal gangs. Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million population is now said to live in Hamas-controlled territory.

The Islamist militant organization has proposed some solutions that would allow some of its weapons to be put into storage, but has refused to accept full disarmament.

For Netanyahu, who faces an election in 10 months, the possibility of Iran repairing the damage to its nuclear program and improving its ballistic missile capabilities in its brief war with Israel and the United States this summer is a priority.

Analysts said Netanyahu and Trump may find much common ground on Iran, but the United States may oppose a new round of attacks on Iran in the near future. Negotiations on a security agreement between Israel and Syria, backed by Washington, have stalled.

Trump said at Mar-a-Lago on Monday: “I hear now that Iran is trying to get powerful again. If so, we’re going to have to take them down. We’re going to take them down. We’re going to beat them to hell. But I hope that doesn’t happen.”

Pollak-David, one of the founders of the Regional Security Coalition, said Netanyahu will want to demonstrate some diplomatic successes throughout the Middle East in the election year.

“As long as there is no development on this issue [Trump plan for Gaza]”many major diplomatic achievements are on freeze… There is an incentive for progress, but it is not at risk of Hamas remaining in power,” he said.

Netanyahu also faces pressure from political opponents. On Monday, Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, in question Israel could not allow the reconstruction of Gaza until Gvili’s body was returned.

Polls show that Netanyahu will lose power in the election with the current support of the ruling coalition.

The Israeli prime minister, who is making his fifth visit to the United States this year to see Trump, may be expecting a political boost from his latest meeting with the president, who said on Monday that Netanyahu had done an “extraordinary job” and that “Israel could not exist without him.”

Trump also claimed that he met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who told him that a pardon for Netanyahu in the long-running corruption case was “on the way.” Trump said: “He’s a heroic wartime prime minister. How can he not be forgiven?”

When asked about Trump’s remarks, Herzog’s office said the Israeli president had not had any conversations with Trump since the pardon request was made several weeks ago, Reuters reported.