Trump Morphs from Asset to Liability for Israel

Alastair Crooke, 18 Dec 2025

Leading Israeli commentator, Anna Barsky, in Ma’ariv (in Hebrew) writes: “Let [Trump’s] plan in Gaza - fail”.

“An Israeli ‘waiting ploy’ is being formulated: not to hurl out a frontal rejection … [but rather] to bet that reality in the region will take its course”.

“[Yet], the fault line [over] Trump’s Gaza Plan is real ... Israel demands a clear order: First, the disarmament of Hamas, i.e., first its actual removal from power, and only after that – reconstruction, international power and Israeli withdrawal”.

And here’s the ‘rub’: “The Prime Minister’s Office understands that Trump, apparently, does not intend to accept the Israeli ‘precondition’ formula”. “And here is the heart of the problem … which is that Hamas does not intend to disarm or leave the territory”.

Thus …“The Gulf states, Egypt, and also significant parts of the American establishment, propose a different order: First, reconstruction and an international mechanism are created, then a stabilisation force and a technocratic government are introduced, and then ‘in the process’, the issue of Hamas - is [only] gradually addressed”.

Thus, the Israeli leadership is both disillusioned and frustrated.