- January 17, 2026
- 7:40 pm
- Israel
The office of the Prime Minister of Israel has openly recorded disagreements with the U.S. administration for the first time regarding a key element of the second phase of the Gaza plan. After the end of Saturday, January 17, 2026, an official response was published to the White House’s decision to form an international executive committee of the “Peace Council,” which is proposed to take control over the post-war rehabilitation of the Sector — outside the framework of IDF participation and without the role of Hamas.
The statement emphasizes that the announcement of the executive committee’s composition “was not coordinated with Israel and contradicts its policy.” The Prime Minister instructed the Foreign Minister to contact the U.S. Secretary of State for clarifications. For Jerusalem, this is a rare and indicative step — such public formulations towards Washington have not been heard before.
The context amplifies the effect. In recent days, according to Israeli media, Benjamin Netanyahu has been actively communicating with Donald Trump, but the discussions mainly concerned Iran. There was no reaction from Jerusalem to the White House’s announcement on Friday about transferring Gaza under the management of the Palestinian government. After this, an American source informed journalists that Israel was allegedly informed in advance about the parameters of the decision — a thesis that the Prime Minister’s office essentially disputed.
The composition of the executive committee became a separate point of tension. It does not include representatives from Israel — except for businessman Yakir Gabay from the Israeli diaspora, who is close to Trump. Meanwhile, the list includes Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Qatari diplomat Ali Tawadi, head of Egyptian intelligence Hasan Rashad, and Minister of Regional Cooperation Reem Al-Hashimi. For Jerusalem, such a balance looks like a shift in the center of gravity of control over Gaza without Israeli participation.
The domestic political reaction was not long in coming. The leader of “Otzma Yehudit” Itamar Ben-Gvir publicly supported the Prime Minister’s statement, despite previous threats to leave the coalition if the second phase of the plan started. He insists that the Sector “does not need any executive committee,” and the key goal is the military destruction of Hamas and the promotion of “mass voluntary migration” in the logic of Trump’s initial proposals.
Ben-Gvir’s rhetoric synchronizes with signals from the security bloc. Earlier in the morning, “competent sources” informed Channel 12 about the preparation of IDF for a possible resumption of hostilities in Gaza. This increases pressure on the government amid diplomatic uncertainty.
The situation exposes a broader divide: between the American attempt to build a supranational mechanism for managing Gaza and the Israeli demand to maintain key influence over security and reconstruction. For Jerusalem, the issue is not only procedural — it concerns who and under what conditions will determine the future of the Sector after the war. That is why the reaction of the office became public and targeted, and the final formulations in the statement are intended to fix Israel’s position for international partners and the domestic audience — NAnews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency.
