Trump team 'frustrated' with Netanyahu over fears he would undermine process: Report

ISTANBUL

Tension is mounting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump's top advisers, with the US team growing "increasingly frustrated" by Netanyahu's attempts to undermine the peace process, Axios reported Friday.

According to the report, the US president’s inner circle, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, peace envoy Steve Witkoff, and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, has become deeply aggravated, believing Netanyahu is "slow-walking" the agreement and actively taking steps to undermine the ceasefire in Gaza.

An Israeli official said, however, Rubio is closer to Netanyahu's position than Witkoff and Kushner's.

A White House official indicated that Netanyahu has essentially "lost" the backing of Trump's core team, though the president himself, while wanting the deal to move "faster," remains the only key supporter.

Netanyahu has reportedly expressed specific skepticism regarding the proposals put forward by Witkoff and Kushner, particularly their concepts for the demilitarization of Gaza, a core component of the multi-phase plan.

Aware of the disagreement with the US staff, Netanyahu's approach for the upcoming Monday meeting in Mar-a-Lago is to appeal directly to Trump, hoping to persuade him to adopt his own, more hawkish, viewpoint, a senior Israeli official told the news outlet.

Phase one of the deal, which came into force on Oct. 10, included the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Israel has failed to fully meet commitments under the first phase of the agreement, particularly a halt to hostilities, as Israeli forces have continued to launch attacks, which killed at least 411 Palestinians and wounded 1,118 since the ceasefire.

The second phase includes forming a temporary technocratic committee to administer Gaza, launching reconstruction efforts, establishing a peace council, creating an international force, further Israeli troop withdrawals from the territory, and the disarmament of Hamas.

The UN estimates the cost of reconstructing Gaza at about $70 billion as a result of the Israeli war, which has killed nearly 71,000 Palestinians and wounded over 171,000 since October 2023.