Netanyahu-backed Israeli officers obstructing Trump’s Gaza plan: report

Israeli security officials backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are actively obstructing implementation of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, according to a new report in Haaretz, underscoring a widening gap between Washington’s vision and realities on the ground.
In a Friday report titled “Netanyahu and the Elections,” Haaretz said Israeli security officers are openly refusing to cooperate with Trump’s peace board. Citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, the paper quoted one source as saying there is “mutual frustration between the peace board and the Israeli establishment,” adding that officers are no longer even trying to hide their opposition.
Officials from the National Security Council, the Defence Ministry and the military’s Southern Command have told US diplomats that Washington has treated them as “minor players,” while criticising the roadmap as making the government appear to be “selling out Israel.” Netanyahu himself rejected the plan on 9 August, insisting Hamas must be fully disarmed before any Israeli withdrawal. Another source told Haaretz that relations between Trump and Netanyahu are “extremely bad.”
The report comes less than two months before Israel’s 27 October Knesset elections, as polling for Netanyahu and his Likud party continues to decline. Haaretz also said Israel is blocking the departure of thousands of Gazans recruited by a technical committee to serve in a new police force in Gaza. The recruits have been prevented from leaving for training in Egypt, and the peace board fears that even if allowed to travel, Israel could later cite security concerns to bar their return.
Trump unveiled a 20-point plan to end the Gaza war on 29 September 2025, including the release of Israeli hostages, Hamas’s disarmament, a partial Israeli withdrawal, the establishment of a technical administration and the deployment of an international stabilization force. The first phase took effect on 10 October 2025; while Hamas met its obligations, Israel reneged on its commitments and continued its attacks. The second phase, endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2803 adopted on 17 November 2025, calls for a broader Israeli military withdrawal, reconstruction and the start of disarmament, yet Israel still controls roughly 70% of the Gaza Strip and insists Palestinian factions must be disarmed before it pulls back.
The agreement came two years into Israel’s war on Gaza, which began on 8 October 2023 and has continued in various forms since. Israeli aggression has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, wounded over 174,000 and caused widespread destruction to about 90% of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure.