Gaza ceasefire clash: Netanyahu’s support for UN plan sparks turmoil across Israeli politics

Report by Amal Shehadeh, English adaptation by Mariella Succar

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s welcome of the U.N. Security Council’s approval of President Donald Trump’s plan to halt the war in Gaza has sparked widespread controversy in Israel. 

Most ministers, opposition figures, and even members of the Likud party viewed the resolution as a setback for Israel.

Netanyahu had spent the past week trying to persuade Washington to amend the resolution before the vote to ensure that the second phase of Trump’s plan in Gaza would not begin before Hamas disarms—efforts that ultimately failed.

This raises the question of whether Netanyahu’s public endorsement actually signals his willingness to implement the American proposal without obstacles.

Political and security analysts ruled out immediate implementation, saying Hamas’s refusal to surrender its weapons, coupled with Israel’s insistence on the group’s disarmament first, will form the initial barriers to carrying out the plan. They viewed Netanyahu’s welcome of the resolution as a tactical move aimed at maintaining good relations with Trump.

Opponents of the resolution say it paves a faster path toward establishing a Palestinian state and reduces Israel’s influence in shaping the region’s future. They warn it could also become the quickest route to the collapse of Netanyahu’s government after unprecedented opposition within the coalition and threats of withdrawal.

According to these critics, allowing a path toward Palestinian self-determination and approving the entry of an international peacekeeping force into Gaza may enable soldiers from countries seen as sympathetic to Hamas to strengthen the group rather than help disarm it—an issue on which Israelis broadly agree.

Tel Aviv has set its own criteria for evaluating the countries participating in the Gaza peacekeeping force, including the ideological orientations of those states. Israel has informed Washington that it prefers troops from Arab countries with which it maintains good relations, such as Egypt, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates. 

In Israel’s view, the deployment of a Turkish force in Gaza would strengthen Hamas and increase the security threat rather than reduce it. The same applies to Qatar, which Israel considers the primary financier of the Gaza Strip before October 7.

Israel, which hopes U.S. efforts to implement the Security Council resolution will fail due to Hamas’s refusal to disarm, does not expect international forces to begin entering Gaza next January. At the same time, it has begun preparing for the possibility that troops from countries it opposes may arrive. 

Military teams have been formed to manage the reception of thousands of soldiers in advance of their deployment in the Gaza Strip as part of the international stabilization force.