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<div class="gmail-domain-border"></div><h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Political Theater on Gaza: The Trump-Netanyahu Ceasefire Deal</h1>July 14, 2025</div>
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<img src="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Trump_Netanyahu2_VIDEO.png" alt="" title="Trump_Netanyahu2_VIDEO" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" width="467" height="313" style="margin-right: 25px;">
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump. (Photo: video grab)
<p><strong>By <a href="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/writers/robert-inlakesh" title="Display all articles for Robert Inlakesh">Robert Inlakesh</a></strong></p>
<blockquote>
<h3><span>Results on the ground are the only thing that can be trusted.
What we hear from the US and Israeli corporate media must be taken with a
grain of salt, while Trump and Netanyahu\u2019s words are all but
meaningless.</span></h3>
</blockquote>
<p><span>In the immediate aftermath of the 12-day battle between Israel
and Iran, US President Donald Trump shifted his focus on allegedly
pursuing a ceasefire in Gaza. Despite the benefits for all sides, in the
event of a durable ceasefire, we are yet to see tangible steps taken to
bring the genocide to a close.</span></p>
<p><span>At the beginning of July, Donald Trump released a post of
\u201cTruth Social\u201d claiming that Israel had agreed upon a 60-day ceasefire
in Gaza, adding that \u201cI hope\u2026 that Hamas takes this Deal, because it
will not get better \u2013 IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,\u201d in the Republican Party
President\u2019s typical style of social media diplomacy. </span></p>
<p><span>Yet, since the beginning of the month, it has become clear that
the Israelis never accepted any ceasefire proposal formally and have
continued to add conditions to the proposal, which are evident
non-starters for Hamas.</span></p>
<p><span>The Hamas position is very clear: they seek a prisoner exchange
but value a comprehensive agreement to end the war entirely and will
not back down from this position. The Palestinian political party has
also repeatedly expressed its readiness to hand power over to a
domestically led governing body, which would be a precursor to a
Palestinian government following free and fair democratic elections.</span></p>
<p><span>Israel, on the other hand, is not even willing to implement a
deal that would replicate the one implemented upon Trump\u2019s inauguration
in late January. It has created the so-called Morag Corridor that
bisects southern Gaza, adding to its scheme of territorial separation
inside the besieged coastal territory.</span></p>
<p><span>During the ceasefire negotiations in 2024, the big sticking
points were Israel\u2019s withdrawal from the Netzarim and Philadelphi
corridors. At the time, policy makers in Tel Aviv argued that it would
prove difficult to return to occupying these dividing line positions
inside Gaza in the event of war and made a big deal about how integral
these corridors were to \u201csecurity\u201d, which it is now also claiming about
the newly built Morag Corridor.</span></p>
<p><span>On March 18, Israel unilaterally tore up the Gaza ceasefire,
which was met with American acquiescence. The Israeli military had
withdrawn from both Philadelphi and Netzarim, yet began returning to
these positions within days, debunking their own notions that withdrawal
made reoccupying the area difficult.</span></p>
<p><span>In other words, there are no real obstacles on the ground to a
ceasefire. Hamas will cede power; there are ample investors and aid
organizations willing to help, while the Israeli military has no real
excuses in terms of military concessions. Whether we will see a
ceasefire is down to whether Tel Aviv wants it or its allies in
Washington force it.</span></p>
<h4><strong>Will There Be a Ceasefire and Why?</strong></h4>
<p><span>In order to assess whether a ceasefire is likely, we have to
factor in what could shape such a decision. The first is what the
Israelis and Americans can get out of it and why.</span></p>
<p><span>For Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu, a ceasefire could
rupture his ruling coalition and cause a political schism with the most
hardline elements of his right-wing alliance, which could end up
translating to a loss in any future elections.</span></p>
<p><span>Thus far, the Israeli prime minister has failed to achieve his
stated war goals after 22 months of inflicting one of the worst
atrocities in modern history upon the people of Gaza. He is currently
using an ISIS-linked militia that is composed of hardened criminal
collaborators in Gaza, while his US allies are helping to run the
so-called \u201cGaza Humanitarian Foundation\u201d (GHF).</span></p>
<p><span>The Trump administration recently injected 30 million dollars
in its people\u2019s tax dollars to finance the scheme that has been
condemned by over 160 NGO\u2019s and labelled a \u201cdeath trap\u201d. Meanwhile, the
occupying army is setting up concentration camps for Gaza\u2019s civilian
population and desperately attempting to find a new method for
ethnically cleansing the territory.</span></p>
<p><span>Yet, following the battle with Iran, Netanyahu saw both a rise
in support for his right-wing coalition, in addition to a rise in
popular support amongst Israelis for ending the war in Gaza. Therefore,
the personal political incentive for him would be to close the war on
Gaza, return the captives through a prisoner exchange, and focus on
Tehran instead.</span></p>
<p><span>Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that Iran\u2019s enriched Uranium
stockpile survived the Israeli-US attacks on the Iranian nuclear
facilities, while his Defense Minister, Israel Katz, has claimed that
the strategy on combating Tehran\u2019s nuclear program is similar to getting
rid of cancer, hinting at future strikes.</span></p>
<p><span>Furthermore, the issue of Hezbollah in the north is still
clearly a major priority for the Israelis, and their continued illegal
occupation of southern Syria enables military action in Lebanon that
could come from the Bekaa Valley region on the ground, perhaps even in
concert with armed efforts from forces loyal to Ahmed al-Shara\u2019a.</span></p>
<p><span>Syria is clearly allied with Israel against Iranian-aligned
groups \u2013 Hezbollah and the Palestinian resistance \u2013 presenting an
opening that may not exist in the future, given the shaky situation for
the pro-US leadership in Damascus.</span></p>
<p><span>Israel\u2019s primary concerns are therefore fighting against
Hezbollah and Iran. If Gaza is taken out of the situation, this could
potentially negate the possibility of having to fight a multifront
ground war in the north and south in the future, while also taking
Yemen\u2019s Ansarallah out of the picture at least temporarily.</span></p>
<p><span>Although the occupied West Bank could surprise Tel Aviv with a
shock uprising, it appears as if the territory has been successfully
pacified with the help of the Palestinian Authority for the time being.
Even a large-scale annexation of Area C of the West Bank (60% of the
territory), may not translate into any meaningful popular resistance
there. </span></p>
<p><span>A major challenge to the Israeli occupiers in the West Bank
cannot be ruled out, however, as the October 2015 Knife Intifada
demonstrated to be the case. Quite suddenly and for reasons which can
only be understood in hindsight, there can be an uprising that comes out
of nowhere.</span></p>
<p><span>This being said, nobody is expecting the West Bank to be a
major factor in the foreseeable future. Therefore, taking the resistance
in the Gaza Strip out of the multi-front war would make perfect
strategic sense for the leadership in Tel Aviv.</span></p>
<p><span>From the US perspective, ending the genocide in Gaza would
obviously carry many benefits. Israel has lost popular support in the
United States, so on a domestic level, the Trump administration would
benefit in the court of public opinion. Also, the US would appear strong
over their Israeli allies, especially as many Americans have begun to
question who really controls the foreign policy positions of their
President. </span></p>
<p><span>Washington could also then pave the way towards a proper
Syria-Israel normalization agreement, while working on bringing Saudi
Arabia into their so-called \u201cAbraham Accords\u201d alliance. There is no real
downside to ending the Gaza genocide from a purely US perspective at
that point, as their attempt to achieve total regional dominance can be
achieved against Iran and Hezbollah, in theory, not in the Gaza Strip
against Hamas.</span></p>
<p><span>All of the motivators towards achieving a ceasefire are there.
But we have to understand that the mere fact that it isn\u2019t happening
means that the US and Israel don\u2019t actually want one yet. If Washington
and Tel Aviv wanted a lasting ceasefire, it would be announced within a
few days and implemented soon thereafter. Even if Israel said no, the US
could force it with a single phone call.</span></p>
<h4><strong>Political Theater</strong></h4>
<p><span>During the course of the Biden administration\u2019s rule, post
October 7, 2023, we heard time and time again about \u201cimminent\u201d
ceasefires and the various efforts of US negotiations \u201cworking around
the clock\u201d to end the war. It would later be revealed through reports
published by Israel\u2019s Channel 13 and Drop Site News that the Biden
government never asked for Israel to end the war, long after it became
aware that there were no clear war goals in Gaza.</span></p>
<p><span>Donald Trump\u2019s announcements and the reports about \u201cofficials\u201d
and \u201cleaks\u201d should also be assumed to be similarly deceptive. These are
all part of a show that is being put on for public consumption.</span></p>
<p><span>There is also a precedent for this kind of political theatre
during the Trump administration\u2019s reign in power too. This was exactly
what we saw in the lead-up to Israel\u2019s surprise attack against Iran. The
US and Israeli media were constantly leaking reports that Trump was
fighting with Netanyahu, some Zionist propaganda outlets even produced
outlandish claims that Washington was set to recognize a Palestinian
State.</span></p>
<p><span>Above and beyond all is the way that Israeli society sees this
situation, which is the primary motivator for the theatre we are seeing.
The talk of imminent agreements over the Gaza war keeps the pressure
off of Netanyahu, while he continues to scheme on how to continue his
regime change efforts against Iran.</span></p>
<p><span>There is a significant portion of the Israeli population that
desperately wants to see an end to the war, for two reasons: Because
they seek the return of the captives, and also due to their frustration
at the frequent deaths of soldiers who are being caught in ambushes by
the Palestinian resistance each day. </span></p>
<p><span>Israel has already lost the military war in Gaza and has been
incapable of executing the ethnic cleansing program that they have
sought since 2023. The Israeli public does not have the determination to
fight and wants easy solutions that don\u2019t carry consequences.</span></p>
<p><span>Benjamin Netanyahu understands his delusional population better
than anyone else and has proven capable of duping the genocidal
citizenry. If there is going to be a ceasefire, the US and Israel will
make it happen; otherwise, everything we are seeing just needs to be
viewed as part of a script. </span></p>
<p><span>Results on the ground are the only thing that can be trusted.
What we hear from the US and Israeli corporate media must be taken with a
grain of salt, while Trump and Netanyahu\u2019s words are all but
meaningless.</span></p>
<p><em>(The Palestine Chronicle)</em></p>
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<p><br></p>
<p><span><em>\u2013 Robert Inlakesh is a journalist, writer, and documentary
filmmaker. He focuses on the Middle East, specializing in Palestine. He
contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle. </em></span></p></div>
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