U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have met several times since Netanyahu arrived for talks. Their agenda included Gaza, Iran, Syria, and Ukraine.
While the two leaders work closely together as partners, they still have differences in their views.
Netanyahu has been clear that he will not stop the attacks on Gaza until Hamas is eliminated as a military group and as the governmental authority. While the families of Israeli hostages are still waiting for their government to make a deal to release those few still alive and retrieve the dead bodies for burial, they continue to protest, hoping to pressure Netanyahu into putting the hostages first. Currently, around 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive. Netanyahu insists on military victory over hostage release.
Critics of Netanyahu, and Israeli legal analysts, have said Netanyahu seeks to keep the Gaza war going indefinitely. The legal strategy serves to keep Netanyahu out of jail for corruption charges. As long as he is serving, he stays free.
Trump tried to place his hand on the scales of Israeli justice by urging the charges be dropped against Netanyahu. According to domestic opinion, that hurt Netanyahu’s cause, as it was seen as foreign interference in the free and fair Israeli judicial system. However, it is only free and fair for Israelis, not for Palestinians.
Both leaders were patting each other on the back, basking in the glory of a successful attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which they consider to be devastating. At the same time, experts may disagree with the extent of the damage.
Netanyahu has claimed for 33 years that Iran was two weeks away from making a nuclear bomb. In Trump, he finally found the US President who was willing to believe his dramatic tale told over three decades like an American soap opera.
Some analysts fear there may be a sequel attack on Iran in the planning, although Trump and Netanyahu have denied it.
On Tuesday, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, joined the two leaders to discuss the status of a Gaza ceasefire. While Trump and Witkoff sold the press on optimism, Netanyahu played it cool.
Witkoff said the number of issues preventing Israel and Hamas from reaching a ceasefire had decreased to just one, and hinted at an agreement before the weekend.
Qatar is the broker between the Israelis and Hamas. Hamas’ dramatic commando attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killed about 1,200 people and captured 251 hostages. Gaza was plunged into an Israeli revenge attack, which has killed over 57,000 people, mainly women and children, and turned Gaza into a rubble-filled parking lot.
The Arab world stands with the rights of the Palestinian people, but they have lost patience with Hamas. The Israeli government is merciless and is committing genocide, but it was Hamas who gave them the impetus to attack Gaza for 23 months of civilian massacres. The Gazans are pleading with Hamas to make a deal and end their suffering.
In 2020, Trump brokered the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco.
Trump’s goal of winning the Nobel Peace Prize would be furthered if Syria and Saudi Arabia were added to the Abraham Accords. President Obama won the prize despite ordering the US-NATO wars in Libya, Syria, and Yemen.
Netanyahu has said one of his goals was to sign Saudi Arabia to the Abraham Accords. Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman is still holding out for a Palestinian state before his Kingdom will sign.
Syria may sign the Abraham Accords. On December 8, 2024, Israel began a bombing campaign across Syria, which destroyed every military asset. Planes, tanks, helicopters, and all forms of weaponry were eliminated. At the same time, Israeli ground forces invaded Syria near Damascus and have remained in occupying positions. Israel continued to conduct airstrikes, destroying further weapons or ammunition. Syria may feel it must sign a deal to stop the attacks and free the areas occupied by Israel.
The root cause of conflict between Israel and its neighbors is the Israeli government’s denial of all human rights of the Palestinian people.
There are no democracies on earth that hold 5 million people without human rights.
Developing a solution, whether two-state or otherwise, should be the priority to ensure the long-term security of Israel and its Palestinian neighbors. Mutual respect for international law must be the foundation.
The Palestinian people are divided amongst themselves. The government of the People’s Republic of China helped the Palestinian factions to reach an agreement in July 2024, after representatives of 14 Palestinian organizations met in Beijing, China. On July 23, they concluded a new agreement on a unity government. However, not enough progress has been made since then.
When Israelis face a crisis, they are unified. When the Palestinians face a crisis, they lack unity.
Israel has lost respect on the international stage. The war in Gaza has caused people around the world to form negative views of the Israeli government, while loathing Hamas at the same time.
Netanyahu might achieve his victory over Hamas, but he will not win back respect internationally or foster an image of Israel as a democracy.
The Israeli people lost a lot on October 7, and the Palestinian people lost even more since then. As is often the case, ordinary people are suffering for the crimes committed by their governments. The international community has failed both peoples by never insisting on a lasting peace deal to prevent armed conflicts.
While the Palestinian people and the majority of countries on earth yearn for an independent Palestinian state, the Israeli government stands firmly against the idea. Some Israelis favor killing all the Palestinians, while others say they should all be deported, and any stubbornly remaining should be kept under lock and key.
However, let’s not forget the Israelis who want peace and yearn for the day when both groups can have equal rights under the law. The security of Israelis depends on the security of the Palestinians, which is based on freedom for both peoples.
Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist.
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