Netanyahu teeters between Trump’s demand to end war, coalition threats
The Israeli right says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu caved to Hamas by allowing hundreds of thousands of Gazans to return to the north.
TEL AVIV — As the Israel-Hamas war draws to a close, many within the far Israeli right are unhappy.
US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, pressured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a deal with Hamas, but the Israeli right remains doubtful of his positions on the war. While media outlets supportive of Netanyahu continue to attack Witkoff, who Netanyahu-aligned Channel 14 suggested might have commercial ties with Qatar, the Israeli premier is avoiding direct confrontation with the new administration.
Fragile ceasefire
The fragile Jan. 19 ceasefire confronted its first serious challenge on Saturday, when Hamas failed to free Israeli civilian Arbel Yehud, claiming it was unable to release the young woman because she was being held hostage in Gaza by another Islamist group. According to the ceasefire deal, she was to be handed over to Israel with three female soldiers freed by Hamas on Saturday.
