In what the Trump administration characterized as ‘a significant breakthrough’, the latest peace deal roadmap in Gaza was announced last Friday, July 31st. The salient details of the agreement were a focused disarmament plan for Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the region. It is projected that these two actions would effectively pacify the region. For the United States, this would signify a major milestone in the efforts spearheaded by the US-led Board of Peace.
Even so, the staunch silence from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raises concern among geopolitical watchers. In fact, the announcement was accompanied by an increase in the barrage of airstrikes into Gaza this past weekend. These attacks took the lives of 28 people, which is the highest toll recorded in weeks for the conflict. This is despite the fact that an explicit stipulation of the agreement was a stop to the attacks.
Thousands of pairs of shoes lined up on Scheveningen Beach for a public memorial symbolizing child deaths in Gaza. The Hague, Netherlands, August 1.
SOURCE: Mouneb Taim/Getty Images
The only communication from the Israeli camp came through unconfirmed ‘Israeli Officials’, political allies, and foreign spokesmen. Most concluded that Israel was not a party to the deal in any capacity. Moreover, they would not withdraw their forces from Gaza before Hamas fully laid down its arms. Prominent far-right members of Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party, Settlements Minister Orit Strouk and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, composed a formal letter on Monday to the Prime Minister.
Likud Ministers Demand Israeli Rejection of the Deal
In it, they urged him to convene the security cabinet and veto the ISF’s (International Stabilization Force) entry into Gaza. This is the force meant to oversee security operations within a pilot zone in Gaza territory. Amit Halevi, another Likud Party lawmaker, was even more blunt, stating that the agreement was utterly useless. So much so that it would only be useful for ‘wrapping tomorrow’s fish’ with. According to him, no soldier would be removed from Khan Younis or Beit Hanoun, two towns within Gaza territory.
Michael Milstein was an Israeli military intelligence operative and is now a senior researcher at Tel Aviv University’s Dayan Center. According to him, the weekend death toll effectively conveys one of two messages. Either that Israel is ‘moving forward despite the restrictions placed on it… or it reflects the fear that the gate is closing soon, so they must clean out the bank,” he stated.
Milstein ended by saying that the key factor to this deal will be Donald Trump. In his view, should President Trump press Netanyahu to “accept the terms of the withdrawal before Israel’s elections, it would be a devastating blow to the Likud Party. Better to remain silent until after the elections rather than commit to a clear roadmap with practical timetables.” Even so, the Israeli leader will have a hard time maintaining his silence while his allies in the right-wing clamor and demand a clear and unequivocal rejection of the peace proposal.