Gaza deal remains stuck nearly a year after the ceasefire, with Israeli and US elections approaching
US President Donald Trump greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he arrives at the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC on September 29, 2025. US President Donald Trump will push Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to an elusive Gaza peace plan on Monday in high-stakes talks at the White House. PHOTO: AFP
Israeli officials, with the support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are obstructing the implementation of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war on the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli daily Haaretz.
In a report headlined “The Gaza deal is stuck. For those involved, the reasons are clear: Netanyahu and the elections,” the newspaper said on Friday that Israeli security officials are refusing to cooperate with Trump’s Board of Peace.
“The gap between the American vision for the Gaza Strip and the results on the ground has never been clearer than it is now, and neither has the gap between the US and Israel,” it said.
The Gaza agreement remains “stuck” nearly a year after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was announced, with less than two months remaining before elections in Israel and US midterm elections, the daily added.
Haaretz, citing an unnamed source familiar with the issue, said there was “mutual frustration between the Board of Peace and the Israeli establishment”.
Israeli officials, including members of the National Security Council and the Defense Ministry as well as officers in the army’s Southern Command, are openly refusing to cooperate with the board, according to the source.
“They are not even trying to hide it anymore. They say: We will not cooperate with you because you threw us under the bus,” the source said.
The statement referred to a 15-point document issued by the Board of Peace on July 30, which calls for the disarmament of Hamas and other Palestinian factions, the transfer of Gaza’s administration to a national Palestinian committee and a phased Israeli withdrawal.
Netanyahu rejected the roadmap on Aug 9, insisting that the factions be fully disarmed before any Israeli withdrawal.
Israeli officials told US diplomats that Washington had taken them “for granted”, the source said.
They also criticised the roadmap and expressed concern that its implementation would make the government appear as though it was “selling out Israel”, according to Haaretz.
Netanyahu’s support
The source described Israel’s obstruction of Trump’s plan as an established “approach”, saying the Board of Peace understands that it is linked to the approaching Israeli elections and is supported at the highest level by Netanyahu.
Israel is scheduled to hold elections for the Knesset, or parliament, on Oct 27, amid declining poll numbers for Netanyahu and his Likud party.
Haaretz said another element of this approach was Israel’s obstruction of the departure of thousands of Gazans recruited by the technocratic committee tasked with managing Gaza to serve in a new police force in the enclave.
Israel has prevented the recruits from leaving Gaza for training in Egypt, according to the report.
The Board of Peace also fears that even if they are allowed to leave, Israel could prevent them from returning after completing their training, citing security concerns, the source said.
The technocratic body, formally known as the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, was established in January under Palestinian official Ali Shaath to oversee civilian affairs, security and essential services during the transitional period.
Trump-Netanyahu relations
A second unnamed source told Haaretz that relations between Trump and Netanyahu were “extremely poor”, adding that very little remained of their previously close relationship.
Read More: Israeli ministers call for Gaza expulsion
Trump announced a 20-point plan to end the Gaza war on Sept 29, 2025. It included the release of Israeli captives, the disarmament of Hamas, a partial Israeli withdrawal, the formation of a technocratic administration and the deployment of an international stabilisation force.
The first phase of the plan took effect on Oct 10, 2025.
While Hamas fulfilled the requirements of the first phase, Israel reneged on its commitments and continued its attacks.
Despite Israel’s failure to honour the agreement, Trump announced in mid-January the start of the plan’s second phase, which is backed by UN Security Council Resolution 2803, adopted on Nov 17, 2025.
The second phase calls for a broader Israeli military withdrawal, reconstruction and the start of the disarmament process.
Israel, however, continues to occupy about 70% of the Gaza Strip and insists that Palestinian factions must disarm before it withdraws.
The agreement followed two years of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which began on Oct 8, 2023, and has since continued in various forms.
The Israeli offensive has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, injured over 174,000 others and caused widespread destruction affecting about 90% of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure.
