The backdrop of Benjamin Netanyahu’s coercion by Donald Trump to support the plan to end the war in Gaza presents Axios in his exclusive report.

The seeds of the plan presented by President Trump on Monday to end the Gaza war were planted three weeks earlier, when Israel bombed Qatar in a failed Hamas leaders’ murder attempt to notice the US agency.

According to Axios, the Israeli raid brought together angry Arab leaders against Benjamin Netanyahu and intensified calls within Israeli society for an agreement to liberate the remaining hostages and ending the war.

In the first phase outraged by the raid and destabilization it could cause, Trump’s advisers, Steve Witkov and Jared Kouchner, soon saw the crisis as an opportunity to end the war, four sources told Axios.

They noticed that “the Arabs were talking in a voice”, even if they were going to raise a voice in Israel, a Trump adviser who knows the discussions told Axios. “It became clear, especially in Steve (Whitkov), that this confession of something that seemed negative at first could turn into something positive. “

The day before the September 9th raid on Doha, Witten and Kusner met with Netanyahu’s trustee, Ron Dermer, in Miami to discuss the peace process in Gaza and a plan for “the next day”.

When they heard about the Israeli attack on Doha, they became furious, feeling that Dermer had cheated on them, sources say. Dermer later claimed he later learned about the planned attack.

The Qatarians were even more furious. They immediately suspended mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas and began to put pressure on Israel in the area and internationally.

A few days later, Whitkov told Dermer that the best way to prevent the situation from being apologized would be apologizing to Qatar and show a willingness to move on to Peace in Gaza, sources say. Dermer was not supportive.

Trump perseverance

However, after they received the “green light” from Trump, Whitkov and Kussner began working on a plan to end the crisis with Qatar and turn it into a larger agreement to end the war in Gaza.

They took the US’s current proposal for a ceasefire and agreement on hostages and combined it with a post -war plan in which Kussner had worked with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The result was a 21 -point document.

“The failed attack on Doha changed the regional potential and opened the door to a real debate on how to end the Gaza war,” An American official noted.

The backdrop

A few days before the UN General Assembly, Qatarians proposed a summit in New York between Trump and the leaders of eight Arab and Muslim countries to discuss the Israeli attack on Qatar and the war in Gaza.

During this meeting last Tuesday, the Arabs and Muslim leaders attacked Israel one after another. After stressing his desire to end the war in Gaza, Trump turned to Witkov: “Steve, tell them what you’ve worked on.”

Whitkov briefed the team on the 21 -point plan, with positive reactions to the room. Trump then asked the team to meet Witten the next day and give her opinion.

By Wednesday night, the US and the eight countries had reached a preliminary agreement on the text. Whitkov and Kusner sent it to the Israelis.

The other side

Netanyahu met Witten and Kussner at his hotel in New York for two hours on Thursday afternoon and again shortly after the same night. At that point, there were major divergences between the US and Israel, an Israeli official said.

On Friday morning, Netanyahu spoke in high tones at the UN. He didn’t mention the Trump plan at all.

However, meetings between Trump’s team and Israelis continued throughout the weekend, with the aim of achieving an agreed text before Netanyahu arrives at the White House on Monday morning to meet Trump.

Turning point

On Saturday, a rumor was spread to Trump’s team that Netanyahu was planning to reject the plan or at least demand sweeping changes.

This led Trump to address a “rigorous and clear” call to Netanyahu, according to a source informed of the discussion.

“Trump told Bibi clearly:” You take it or leave it. And if you leave it means we are abandoned, “the source said, adding that as far as Netanyahu is concerned,” Donald Trump is bored, for many reasons. “

Trump spoke five times by phone with Netanyahu at the weekend, sources said. Trump told Netanyahu that he wanted a ‘Clean yes’ In the plan, not one “Yes, but”.

Trump accepted some of Netanyahu’s modifications, But he rejected many others on issues that are politically sensitive within his far -right coalition, one source said.

Trump noted that he would not ask Netanyahu to compromise on security issues, But this was not the case when his concerns were about the internal political scene.

“If you accept this plan and Hamas reject it, I will provide you with full support to continue to fight them,” Trump assured Netanyahu.

On Sunday, Whitkov and Koussner had negotiations for hours with Netanyahu and Dermer in New York.

Talks were completed at 11 pm With both sides significantly reduce the deviations – including the wording of the apology that Netanyahu should do in Qatar.

“Netanyahu knew what he had to do. He did not object. Give him the credit: When he realized he had to do so (he agree in the plan), he did it »remembered one of the sources. “He didn’t raise his hands … but he did.”

Friction

When the last text was sent to the Arabs and Muslim officials, they were outraged by how many changes Netanyahu had passed, especially on the terms of Israel’s departure from Gaza, sources who know the conversations say.

“Bibi told Trump on their phone calls over the weekend that he would not just retire and let Hamas recovery,” an Israeli official said. Trump agreed.

The Arab countries had also pressed for changes in the text, but many remained out of the final text. The objections were so powerful that the Qatarian advisers would not publish the detailed plan on Monday.

Trump published the plan anyway. He said on Tuesday that he was expecting a response from Hamas in the next “three or four days”. US and Israeli officials expect a positive response, with some reservations.

Throughout Tuesday, Arab officials gave the Trump team reports on the situation and indicated a positive move from Hamas, a source said.

Despite the issuance of a joint statement welcoming Trump’s announcement, Arab officials have made it clear that they believe that the deal is still under negotiation and that the details have not been settled.

An American official said it was possible to further specific “adjustments”, but Trump does not intend to renegotiate the whole plan.

Waiting for Hamas

Trump is based on officials from Qatar, Egypt And in particular Turkey to persuade Hamas to answer “yes” to the deal.

The suggestion is that if Hamas leaves Hamas, “it will be without funding on an island,” said one US official. But “you never know with these guys.”

“So, we cross the fingers and wait for what to do.”