Netanyahu May Present New Plan for Gaza to Trump.. What Is It?

SadaNews - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump today, Monday, at the Mar-a-Lago beach resort in Florida, to discuss Israel's concerns regarding Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran.

While it is anticipated that the U.S. president will press for progress on the stalled ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli officials suggested that Netanyahu might present an alternative plan to the U.S. plan for the Gaza Strip, according to the newspaper "Maariv".

Israeli political sources also considered that the meeting would serve as a "critical battle" that could determine Netanyahu's political future.

Furthermore, sources expected that Netanyahu would propose a roadmap that could slow Trump's push towards implementing his plan for Gaza or even replace it altogether.

This roadmap or Israeli plan to be presented to the U.S. president stipulates Israeli control over up to 75% of the Palestinian territory (noting that Israel currently controls approximately 53% according to the agreement, and that control has expanded this month to 58%), until Hamas fully and definitively relinquishes its weapons.

However, this proposal may clash with Trump's plans, as he seeks to move to the second phase of the Gaza agreement, believing that the issue of weapons should be resolved gradually, focusing on the reconstruction process.

As for the Iranian file, Israeli sources also indicated that Netanyahu is likely to seek Trump’s persuasion that a joint U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran "would yield better results in the future nuclear agreement and possibly undermine the regime in Tehran," according to Israeli media reports.

Netanyahu announced on December 22 that the discussions are expected to cover the second phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, as well as issues concerning Iran and Lebanon.

Washington has mediated the ceasefires on the three fronts, but Israel is concerned that its adversaries will rebuild their forces after being significantly weakened during the war.

It is noteworthy that Israel and Hamas agreed last October to Trump's ceasefire plan for Gaza, which called for an Israeli withdrawal and for Hamas to abandon its weapons and any role in governing the Strip.

Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that Washington aims to establish the transitional administration outlined in Trump's plan, which includes a Council for Peace and a body made up of Palestinian technocrats as soon as possible to manage Gaza before deploying the international security force authorized under the Security Council Resolution issued on November 17.

However, Israel and Hamas have exchanged accusations of committing significant violations of the agreement, and they do not seem closer to accepting the more challenging steps expected in the next phase.

Hamas continues to assert that the issue of weapons should be resolved at the Palestinian level, while Israel continues to carry out airstrikes on various areas in the Strip despite the ceasefire agreement.