"Gaza is our show": U.S. pushes its plan over Netanyahu's objections"Axios, Jan 19, 2026
President Trump's advisers have little patience for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's objections as they push ahead with "phase two" of the Gaza peace plan.
"This is our show, not his show. We managed to do things in Gaza in recent months nobody thought was possible, and we are going to continue moving," a senior U.S. official told Axios, referring to Netanyahu.
Friction point: Netanyahu released an unusually pointed statement objecting to the "executive board" for Gaza, which the White House named on Friday.
°. The committee, which reports to the Trump-led Board of Peace, includes the foreign minister of Turkey and a senior Qatari official, despite Netanyahu's insistence that those countries have no role in governing Gaza.
°. The announcement stunned Netanyahu, who was not consulted. The Israeli media quickly started reporting on the idea that Qatar and Turkey — key mediators on the Gaza deal who both have fractious relationships with Israel — would be wielding influence.
°. "The announcement... was not coordinated with Israel and runs counter to its policy. The Prime Minister instructed the Foreign Minister to raise this matter with the U.S. Secretary of State," Netanyahu said.
The other side: Asked by Axios about Netanyahu's comment, the senior U.S. official doubled down.
° The official said Netanyahu was not consulted on the membership of the committee because he does not have a say in the matter.
°. "If he wants us to deal with Gaza, it will have to be our way. We worked over him. Let him focus on Iran and let us deal with Gaza. We are not going to argue with him. He will do his politics and we will keep moving forward with our plan. He can't really go against us," the U.S. official said.
°. The senior official added that unless Netanyahu wants to send Israeli troops back into the fight in Gaza, with the U.S. withdrawing from this issue, he'll have to get with the U.S. program.
°. "We are doing him a favor. If this fails he can say, 'I told you so.' We know that if it succeeds he will claim credit."
More:
https://www.axios.com/2026/01/17/gaza-phase-two-netanyahu-trump-board
