US drifts further from allies as it shrugs at Israel's Gaza plan

The apparent US indifference to the prospect of a long - possibly indefinite - Israeli military occupation marks a telling change in tone.

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But it is one that, at least so far, the US government has greeted with a telling and collective shrug.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump said it was "pretty much up to Israel" whether to fully occupy Gaza. And when asked the following day whether he was giving Israel a "green light", he instead spoke about the US strikes on Iran earlier this year.

Washington's Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee was even more direct - and his answer was that Netanyahu's Gaza plan is not America's concern.

"It's not our job to tell them what they should or should not do," he said. "Certainly, if they ask for wisdom, counsel, advice, I'm sure the president would offer it. But ultimately, it's the decision that the Israelis and only the Israelis can make."