US President Donald Trump urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call on Thursday to take steps toward implementing his peace plan for the Gaza Strip, according to two sources familiar with the details of the conversation.
The US news website Axios quoted the two sources as saying that Trump wants to move forward with implementing his Gaza plan, regardless of whether Netanyahu or the opposition forms the next Israeli government, following the Israeli elections held on October 27.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog formally tasked Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Israeli Yashar party, with forming the government after consultations with parliamentary blocs. The consultations showed that Eisenkot received recommendations from 67 Knesset members, compared with 46 who backed Netanyahu for the task, while seven members declined to recommend any candidate.
Under Israeli law, Eisenkot has 28 days to form a government, with the possibility of a 14-day extension granted by the Israeli president.
Eisenkot must reach agreements with parliamentary blocs and political parties to form a governing coalition capable of securing the confidence of the 120-member Knesset, amid differing positions among parties over the composition of the next coalition.
Axios noted that the Trump administration did not want implementation of the plan to become a politically controversial issue during the Israeli election campaign. Trump had voiced support for Netanyahu shortly before the elections.
Trump’s plan calls for disarming Hamas and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, while transferring responsibility for administering the territory to a new Palestinian technocratic government.
Despite discussions of a ceasefire, Palestinians continue to be martyred in Gaza. Two Palestinians were martyred on Sunday evening in an Israeli bombardment west of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
