Getting Hamas and Israel to agree to a cease-fire was a big deal for Donald Trump.
However, word on the street is that Trump is anxious to see the next stage of the cease-fire deal move along.
Reports are now surfacing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing back on this desire to move the process forward.
There have been reports of friction between Trump and Netanyahu, but that is not the picture that our president is painting.
If we look back at this relationship, there has been friction with Netanyahu on numerous occasions, but it was professional friction, and it has never impacted their overall relationship.
When Trump was asked about his relationship with the prime minister, he responded, "I don't think it could be better.”
Trump also credited Netanyahu for keeping Israel united during the war in Gaza and expressed his desire to see a pardon for him regarding the corruption charges he is facing in his country. Trump stated, "He's a wartime prime minister who is a hero. How do you not give a pardon? ... I spoke to the president, and he tells me it's on its way.”
Reports broke last week that Trump and Netanyahu were going to be meeting this week.
That was also when reports surfaced that Netanyahu was not happy that Trump wanted Israel to press forward with the next phase of the peace plan.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff and first son-in-law Jared Kushner have been running point on this for Trump, and they are expected to face the initial request by Netanyahu regarding assurances that, before anything happens, Hamas will be permanently disarmed.
The body of Israeli counter-terror police Master Sgt. Ran “Rani’’ Gvili has also not yet been returned to Israel, which is believed to be the last of the bodies remaining in Hamas custody since the invasion first took place. Israel also wants that body returned before they move the peace process forward.
As expected, Netanyahu arrived at Mar-a-Lago to meet with President Trump to discuss the peace plan, and from the initial appearances, Trump was already addressing Netanyahu’s concerns.
Trump told the media, "We have to disarm with Hamas, so one of the things we'll talk about, certainly. But there has to be a disarming of Hamas. Otherwise, very quickly."
To this point, Hamas has refused to disarm, and based on the long-standing relationship between these two, I don’t see Trump selling out Israel if Hamas goes back on the deal.
I think some of the reports we are seeing about this alleged pushback are conjecture rather than fact, as the mainstream media loves to make life as tough as possible for Trump. The president wants to rid the world of these terrorist groups, so I feel pretty confident stating that phase two will be put on hold until Hamas agrees to disarm. And if they don’t, I believe Trump will give Netanyahu the green light to obliterate them as he sees fit.
