Maariv: Trump’s Gaza Bombshell No More Than Trial Balloon

• CrossFireArabia
• February 10, 2025

As the hours passed after the White House bombshell in which President Donald Trump announced American control over Gaza and in which he said “it will be ours,” and reiterated that all Gazans would have to be removed and transferred to a “better” place; since then, the stock exchange of names of countries that could receive the Palestinians has been growing and flourishing.

In addition to Jordan and Egypt, which Trump mentioned, the names of countries such as Albania, Puntland, and Somaliland stand out. Why not? If you asked the Gazans themselves, some of them would laugh in Trump’s face, or say: “Come on, if it’s a resettlement, why not in Sweden, England, or Canada?”

In Israel, despite the harsh sound of the word transfer, no one opposes the idea of ​​getting Gaza out of our lives once and for all, especially after 7 October. The Israelis believe the Palestinians will have to pay a heavy price, and they want the Palestinians of the West Bank to disappear as well.

But it seems that the big balloon Trump launched into the air is nothing more than a trial balloon; a big threat balloon in an attempt to end the resistance in Gaza without a fight. There is no real intention of a mass exodus of nearly two million people.

Trump has set a heavy price in the hope that Hamas will voluntarily leave Gaza, and it can be assumed that this is just a preliminary proposal, an introductory step, from the statements of the president’s advisers as well, and if the Arab countries do not like it, these countries are invited to present their solution to disarm Gaza.

For Israel, the intention to prevent Hamas from continuing to control Gaza is desirable, especially after Netanyahu failed in this mission, and Hamas remained in power at the end of 15 months of fighting. It seems that there are those who have to swallow the “absolute victory”.

It is to be wondered: What was actually reached in the meeting between Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu and what are its implications? In short, in the end, Trump imposed on Netanyahu not to renew the war, and to continue with the deal to release the kidnapped soldiers. On the sidelines, it is unreasonable for an American president to insist on an Israeli prime minister in order to release Israeli kidnapped soldiers.

Messianic Vision

Trump has categorically ruled out the establishment of Israeli settlements in Gaza based on the messianic vision of Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, hinted at his desire to move quickly on the Saudi issue, and made it clear that he still prefers a diplomatic solution with Iran over the use of force.

On the surface, this may seem disappointing to Netanyahu, but don’t worry; Trump has worked to create a welcoming atmosphere for the prime minister, and provided him with a far-reaching virtual achievement in order to preserve his coalition, which is a placebo for a government afflicted with the delusions of Smotrich and Ben-Gvir.

By resettling the Gazans, Netanyahu can sell the idea to his partners on the extreme right. These are dreams in the air, and the coalition is what is meant. And with the help of the grand plan of American control over Gaza and the transfer of all the residents of the Strip from there, a plan that has little chance of being realized, to say the least, Netanyahu can buy more time.

A person who cares only about his position, and whose top priority is his political survival, can strengthen the coalition, and in the meantime, Smotrich and Ben-Gvir will quickly accept the spoiled goods; the first will remain in the government, the second will return to its bosom, and the three will cling to this lie and pass it on to the base until the next crisis.

On top of all this political filth, there is the issue of releasing the hostages; Yesterday, we saw the horrific and horrific scenes of the return of Ohad Ben-Ami, Eli Sharaby and Or Levy as walking skeletons, which emphasized the importance of returning everyone as soon as possible. These people, who were abandoned twice, must be returned: once on 7 October, and then in the rigging of the deal to free them.

The outrageous images of Hamas controlling Gaza once again confirm, unfortunately, Netanyahu’s complete failure in managing the war, and now we hope that Trump and White House officials will force him to continue releasing the prisoners, and then the IDF will ensure that the “monsters” of Hamas are finally eliminated, down to the last one.

This column was written by By Yossi Hadar for the Israeli daily, Maariv and translated from Arabic and appeared in Jo24.