Was Bibi Blindsided by Trump?

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ou could already tell that President Trump’s new “board of peace” for governing Gaza would be problematic by who was praising it and who wasn’t. Hamas welcomed Trump’s announcement.

In Israel, on the other hand, the Prime Minister’s Office released a dramatic announcement last Motzaei Shabbos: “The declaration regarding the composition of the governing committee for Gaza, subordinate to the Peace Conference, was not coordinated with Israel and contradicts its policy. The prime minister has instructed the foreign minister to raise the matter with the US secretary of state.”

When Binyamin Netanyahu distances himself from responsibility in such a way, it is a sign that he senses failure. In practical terms, even before the board members’ names were read aloud, the very establishment of the board was already problematic for Israel. The last hostage, Ran Gvili, has yet to be returned, and Hamas’s disarmament appears even further off than the collapse of the Iranian regime.

The president announced on Friday night that the board of peace would be chaired by Trump himself, and would include his son-in-law Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and former British prime minister Tony Blair.