For Netanyahu, avoiding a peace deal may now be worse than agreeing one

Trump is asking the Israeli PM to risk his government but dangling the prospect of a historic legacy, writes Lucy Williamson.

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Israel's prime minister was saying all the right things about the peace deal he had just agreed to, but he seemed deflated, his voice hoarse and his energy dimmed, as he praised Trump as "the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House".

It is a friendship that could cost him his government.

Netanyahu's far-right allies have threatened to leave – and possibly collapse – his government if he makes too many concessions in ending the war. Coalition partners like Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir have made little secret of their desire to annex Gaza, drive out Palestinians and re-establish Jewish settlements there.

They – and Netanyahu – have been implacably opposed to any role for the Palestinian Authority in Gaza, and any pathway to a Palestinian State. The deal Netanyahu has now agreed to outlines both, though with heavy caveats.