A Western diplomat involved in efforts to advance US President Donald Trump's plan for the Gaza Strip told Israel Hayom that Netanyahu's announcement on Sunday regarding the Gaza governing committee was warranted. "There were communication breakdowns between the sides," the diplomat said. "At this very moment, work is underway to smooth things over and return to a full agreement with coordination between Jerusalem and Washington." The diplomat declined to go into the substance of the disagreements.
During the World Economic Forum, taking place this week in Davos, an international condemnation of Hamas is expected. The condemnation will be led by President Trump, with dozens of world leaders set to join him.
After the conference, all bodies responsible for administering the Gaza Strip, including Turkey and Qatar, are expected to present Hamas with an unequivocal demand to disarm. The demand will be delivered by the Board of Peace headed by Trump, the Gaza executive board, and the Palestinian "technocratic" government.
A source familiar with the details told Israel Hayom that if Hamas rejects the demand to surrender its weapons, Trump will authorize Israel to address the problem, as he stated openly during his most recent meeting with Netanyahu.
If, however, Hamas agrees to the demand, close monitoring of its full implementation will be required. Both Israeli and American officials assume that Hamas cooperation would be partial and that only some of its weapons would be handed over. It remains unclear how such a scenario would be handled.
Meanwhile, an American official told Israel Hayom that the administration harbors no illusions about the scale of the challenge. He agreed that disarming Hamas is the greatest test facing the Gaza plan.
At the same time, the senior US official said the current administration has already achieved extraordinary results regarding Gaza and the war. "Who would have believed we would bring back all the living hostages and nearly all of the fallen hostages? Who would have believed we could maintain the ceasefire while the Israel Defense Forces control more than half of Gaza?" he said.
He added, "In this period, we managed to establish a technocratic government that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority and that is acceptable both to Israel and to Arab and Muslim states. All of this could only have happened thanks to President Trump, who cares deeply about what is happening here."
According to the official, Trump "is throwing his full weight behind the success of the plan, and Israelis need to give it a chance." He said, "The option of resuming the war is always there. But just as we delivered results on other fronts, this effort also deserves an opportunity." The official stressed that the US administration remains committed to securing the return of the last hostage, Ran Gvili.
