Netanyahu's Political Games Make Him a Hypocrite on Gaza Roadmap, Editorial Argues

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's public rejection of the Board of Peace's 15-point roadmap for Gaza, which Hamas had accepted, has drawn criticism for hypocrisy. While Netanyahu declared Israel's rejection of the plan at a weekly cabinet meeting, breaking with US President Donald Trump's endorsement, his government has simultaneously implemented aspects of the roadmap.

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Nothing breeds public cynicism about leaders more quickly than a gap between their words and their actions; when they say one thing and do another.

Arguments for rejecting the plan exist, primarily concerning its ambiguous sequence and the potential for Israel to withdraw from Gaza before Hamas is fully disarmed of its weaponry. Assurances from the Board of Peace's representative, Nickolay Mladenov, that Israel would withdraw sector by sector after weapons were secured under international supervision, have not fully allayed Israeli skepticism.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would do well to keep this in mind when discussing Israel’s response to the Board of Peace’s 15-point road map for Gaza.

However, the article argues that Netanyahu's public dismissal of the plan is difficult to justify given subsequent actions. Israel has significantly reduced its attacks in Gaza since Hamas accepted the roadmap, and the IDF has ceased targeted assassinations, limiting military actions to immediate threats. This de-escalation contrasts sharply with the categorical public rejection.

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What is more difficult to justify, however, is categorically rejecting the plan in public while taking steps on the ground consistent with several of its central provisions.

Furthermore, even before Hamas's acceptance, the security cabinet had approved the entry of up to 200 members of the International Stabilization Force, a key component intended to support Hamas's disarmament and stabilize areas vacated by Israel. Additionally, Israel has reportedly approved infrastructure work for an Emirati-backed project in eastern Rafah to provide temporary housing, despite Netanyahu's public stance that reconstruction will not occur until Hamas is disarmed. These actions suggest a pragmatic implementation of parts of the roadmap that contradicts the prime minister's public pronouncements.

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For instance, Israel has sharply scaled back its attacks in Gaza since Trump announced Hamas’s acceptance of the road map, and the IDF stopped carrying out targeted assassinations, limiting its military actions to immediate threats.