The US President offered his wholehearted support to Israel and its policies in Gaza when he hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Monday.
Despite repeated violations and claims that Netanyahu and his allies have at the very least delayed implementation of what has become a ceasefire in name only, Trump said Israel was not to blame for what he called ‘uncertainty’ over phase two of the Gaza ceasefire deal, insisting that Israel has “lived up to the plan 100 percent.”
While he said he did not agree with Israel “100 percent” on the occupied West Bank and its support for illegal settlements, Trump and Netanyahu emerged from the meeting hailing progress toward a Gaza ceasefire.
Predictably, Trump echoed Netanyahu’s position that Hamas is the primary obstacle to phase two, repeating his call for the group to disarm and warning that “there’ll be hell to pay” if it fails to do so, without elaborating on what that response would entail.
As the discussed Gaza’s future, Israeli forces continued to control nearly 60 percent of the enclave, carrying out systematic demolitions of Palestinian homes, preventing residents from returning, and frequently shooting at Palestinians near Israeli-controlled areas.
Al Jazeera correspondent Tareq Abu Azzoum reported from Deir el-Balah that this level of control means vast swaths of Gaza will remain military or buffer zones or be too dangerous to approach because of unexploded ordnance and widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure. He added that thousands of Palestinians are trapped in small pockets in western Gaza while the eastern parts remain under Israeli military control, with Israeli officials repeatedly stating they will not withdraw from those areas.
Netanyahu anounced that Trump will be awarded the Israel Prize!