Former Israeli PM: Trump ‘Bent Netanyahu Like Rubber Doll’ on Gaza Peace Plan as Palestinian Civilians Desperate for End to War
Ehud Barak claims Hamas militarily defeated a year ago, calls continued conflict “war of deception” for coalition survival as death toll surpasses 66,000 including 18,000 children
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Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak accused President Donald Trump today of forcing Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a Gaza peace framework the current prime minister repeatedly “torpedoed,” claiming Hamas was militarily defeated more than a year ago and the war now serves only to preserve Netanyahu’s coalition.
Speaking on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing as the deadline approaches for Hamas to respond to Trump’s 20-point peace plan, Barak said Trump “basically bent Netanyahu like a rubber doll and imposed upon him his framework agreement.”
The explosive criticism from a former IDF chief of staff comes as Palestinian political analyst Reham Owda warned in a separate ABC interview that Gaza civilians view the proposal as their “only option” to end bloodshed that has killed more than 66,000 people, including over 18,000 children and more than 12,000 women.
“It has nothing to do with our interests, nothing to do with security or national interests. It’s about survivability of Netanyahu’s coalition. That’s all,” Barak said of the continued fighting.
Arab mediators say Hamas is open to Trump’s plan but wants more time to review conditions before the three-to-four-day deadline the president initially set.
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Palestinian Desperation Intensifies
Owda described widespread Palestinian fear that Hamas may reject the proposal, leaving civilians trapped in what human rights organizations have called a genocide.
“The majority of Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip feeling worried because they are afraid that Hamas may refuse this plan,” Owda said. “It’s not the best chance. It is the only option that we have. We have no alternative.”
She emphasized the catastrophic humanitarian toll as fighting continues.
“Till now, as I am speaking now, the bloodshed is continuing. The destruction is continuing. Thousands of civilians are killing,” Owda said. “Many people and human rights organizations call this war as a genocide war because it resulted more than 66,000 killing or fatalities, including more than 18,000 of children and more than 12,000 of women who have been killed.”
Owda urged immediate acceptance with details negotiated later.
“We need to stop this war. And later, we can discuss about other details. We are expecting that Hamas say now yes. And in the second phase, it can discuss and negotiate about more details,” she said.
Hamas Reservations Detailed
Owda outlined specific concerns delaying Hamas’s response to Trump’s framework.
“They want to differentiate between offensive weapons and defensive weapons. They want also more time frame for handling the hostages,” she said. “They want also more modification regarding the authority that will rule the Gaza Strip.”
Hamas prefers a technocrat government rather than the Peace Council Trump proposed and seeks modifications to the international commission structure, Owda explained.
“They want the technocrat government that rule the Gaza Strip, not the peace or Council of Peace, as Trump suggests. So there is a lot of modifications,” she said.
She warned rejection could prolong the conflict indefinitely.
“We are afraid that Trump refuse this modification and the war continue with more bloodshed, with more destruction,” Owda said.
Extended Timeline Raises Concerns
The delay in Hamas’s response heightens Palestinian anxiety about potential rejection.
“If it is yes, we will hear this positive answer soon. But taking more time, this means that there is a possibility of rejection of this plan,” Owda said.
She described civilian priorities as focused entirely on survival rather than political considerations.
“As civilians, what they are thinking about? They are thinking about survival. They want to live. They want this war to stop as soon as possible. And we want the reconstruction of our country. And we don’t want to be forced, displaced from our country,” Owda said.
Military Victory Achieved Year Ago
Barak’s most damaging claim centered on timing, arguing Hamas’s military defeat more than a year ago made continued operations unnecessary for security.
“Hamas had been defeated as a military force more than a year ago,” Barak said. “And following its defeat, there was a major blow to Hezbollah, a major blow to the Syrian military capabilities, a major blow to Iran.”
He said Israel could have announced victory and opened regional cooperation including normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia and establishing economic and energy corridors from India through Gulf states and Israel to Europe.
“All these were delayed for no reason. Netanyahu once and again torpedoed the proposals to have a hostage deal and rejected this very very plan,” Barak said.
He suggested a failed attack on Hamas leaders in Doha contributed to Trump concluding he needed to “push harder on both sides.”
Plan Available For Over A Year
The former prime minister said the current framework “basically was on the table all the time” and could have been implemented six months to over a year ago.
“The only way to defeat Hamas is to replace it by another legitimate body, which will be legitimate in the eyes of international law, international community, neighboring countries who have peace or everyone across with Israel, and the Palestinians themselves,” Barak said.
The replacement entity must be Palestinian rather than foreign, he emphasized.
“So it cannot be an Australian entity, it cannot be an Israeli entity. It should be an entity which is, however you touch it, it’s a Palestinian entity. And that’s something that Netanyahu rejected forcefully,” Barak said.
While affirming Hamas deserved punishment for the “barbarian attack,” Barak argued the organization’s military defeat created opportunities Netanyahu squandered for political reasons.
Netanyahu’s Likely Responses
Barak outlined potential Netanyahu strategies for managing Trump’s pressure.
“I don’t know what Netanyahu will be. He might try to kind of stretch it over time to wait until Trump’s attention will be drawn to something else,” Barak said. “Probably if he cannot do this, probably he will try to modify it more towards the Israeli position, so his extremists, the Messianic people and the ultra-Orthodox in his government will stay in power.”
The former prime minister suggested Netanyahu might ultimately claim the plan as his own if other tactics fail.
“If nothing works, he might even make a U-turn and announce it as something good and based on his achievement, great achievements in the war, which are basically the achievements of the IDF, trying to take to his credit all the achievements and to throw all these failures on someone else and go to election,” Barak said.
Trump’s Deadline Flexible
Both analysts suggested Trump’s three-to-four-day deadline is negotiable.
Barak dismissed it as consistent with the president’s negotiating style rather than a hard cutoff.
“I’m quite sure that no one, including some Americans in the room, did not take the three to four days as a kind of something that is a precondition to continue. That’s the way of Trump is talking in kind of a free spirit,” Barak said. “It doesn’t really mean that three to four days is 72 to 96 hours.”
Practical challenges including locating bodies of deceased hostages require additional time, he noted.
“Everyone expected it to take more time, especially that it’s not good that they can find, especially all those who are dead. They have to find their bodies in order to bring them,” Barak said.
Framework Requires Detail Work
Both Barak and Owda characterized Trump’s proposal as an outline requiring substantial additional negotiation.
“Hamas will have to answer, I believe, yes, but. And the need to clarify certain details is clear. It’s not real detailed agreement, just contour and outline,” Barak said. “And probably several days or hopefully a few weeks will be needed in order to discuss it.”
He called it a “good starting point” for ending the war and opening regional cooperation.
“It’s a good starting point for Israel in my point, from my point of view, to have a serious discussion about ending the war, opening a new chapter and starting cooperate with the more positive neighbors in order to start to following this plan to recuperate from this war,” Barak said.
Tony Blair Role Key
Barak strongly endorsed Trump’s proposal for an international board led by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to oversee Gaza’s transition.
“These are people who are well accepted, especially Tony Blair, former minister of Great Britain. He had a lot of experience in the Middle East,” Barak said, noting Blair led European quartet efforts on Middle East peace even after leaving office.
“He knows the people personally for years on all sides of this conflict. And I think that it can be very effective,” Barak said.
The international figures help both sides navigate difficult direct negotiations, he argued.
“For Israel it’s easier to discuss it with Tony Blair than with any other Palestinian figure, and even for the Arab countries, for Egypt, for the Emirates, Saudis, it’s easier to talk to Tony Blair than directly to Israel at this stage,” Barak said.
Implementation Conditions
Barak outlined two essential Israeli conditions for implementation.
“Number one, not a single individual who was a member of any branch, any military branch of the Hamas could be a member of any organ of the new entity,” he said.
The second involves staged withdrawal with security milestones.
“Israel pulls out first into the perimeter, let’s say half a mile width, along all the street border, but does not go to the border, to original border, before the pre-agreed security milestones are achieved,” Barak said.
The plan envisions inter-Arab forces entering Gaza while Israel withdraws to a perimeter, creation of a technocrat government with international oversight, reconstruction financed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and gradual development of Palestinian security forces.
“The inter-Arab force, which is temporary for a year or two or three, I don’t know, but not permanent, and they have to build another Palestinian security force,” Barak said.
Trump Contradicts Netanyahu Agenda
Barak emphasized Trump’s plan directly opposes Netanyahu government priorities, particularly those of what he called “extremist messianic nuts” in the coalition.
“Trump talked clearly about the past toward the Palestinian entity, Palestinian state. He talks about full withdrawal of Israel from Gaza,” Barak said. “He talked about canceling these whole crazy ideas about transferring two million Palestinians to some other destination in the world.”
Trump also committed to allowing Hamas leaders who pledge peaceful behavior to remain in Gaza, according to Barak.
“All these elements are exactly the head-on collision with Netanyahu’s policy and strategy,” he said.
Guerrilla Resistance Will Continue
Barak dismissed Netanyahu’s stated goal of “absolute victory that will evaporate any Hamas terrorist” as unachievable, pointing to ongoing Hamas activity in the West Bank despite 58 years of Israeli control.
“We are controlling the West Bank for 58 years. And there are still Hamas terrorist attacks in the cities of the West Bank, where we control, fully control,” Barak said.
He characterized remaining Hamas forces as guerrilla fighters rather than a conventional military threat.
“Only the Hamas however tiny and in a way insignificant force they are not anymore a fighting force, they are a guerrilla force several thousands of them still have weapons and some ideas and simple RPGs. And they will use it even for years,” Barak said.
“There is no way to complete what Netanyahu talks about,” he added.
Historical Irony
The former prime minister described Netanyahu’s situation as an “irony of history” where efforts to prevent a Palestinian state produced the opposite result.
“He came to kill or block any possibility of Palestinian state and ended up mobilizing the whole world to impose upon Israel Palestinian state,” Barak said.
He characterized current operations as serving coalition survival rather than national interests.
“We, the opposition, we call it a war of deception. It has nothing to do with our interests, nothing to do with security or national interests. It’s about survivability of Netanyahu’s coalition,” Barak said.
Approaching the second anniversary of October 7, Barak argued military objectives were accomplished a year ago.
“October 7 made it a compelling imperative to make sure Hamas will not reign and will not be able to threaten Israel. This had been basically achieved a year ago,” he said.
Subsequent operations against Hezbollah, Syria and Iran created what he called a “launching pad for announcing a victory.”
The comments represent some of the sharpest internal Israeli criticism of Netanyahu’s Gaza strategy from a former prime minister and IDF chief of staff.
Barak’s assessment that Hamas was militarily defeated a year ago, combined with Owda’s portrayal of desperate Palestinian civilians viewing Trump’s plan as their only hope, underscores the human cost of continued fighting.
Whether Trump’s pressure will succeed where previous negotiations failed remains uncertain as the deadline for Hamas’s response approaches.
Barak expressed cautious hope tempered by uncertainty.
“I hope it will fly, but I’m not sure,” he said.
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