Report: CIA assesses Netanyahu likely believes he can avoid making post-war Gaza plan

The CIA assesses that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu probably believes he can successfully avoid making a clear post-war plan for the Gaza Strip, according to a report by the US spy agency seen by CNN.

The June 3 report notes that Netanyahu believes he can withstand pressure from the Biden administration on the need to formulate and announce a plan for the governance of Gaza after the war against Hamas concludes.

Netanyahu “probably believes he can maintain support from his security chiefs and prevent defections” from the right flank of his hardline coalition by discussing future plans for Gaza in “vague terms,” the report reads.

The CIA report, circulated to US officials, warns Netanyahu will likely only engage on the issue of post-war Gaza after the achievement of “what he sees as key security benchmarks, which may take months.”

The assessment notes that the benchmarks include completing the vague concept of “major military operations” as well as killing Hamas’s military wing commander Mohammed Deif.

CNN says of the report: “It comes amid a clear shift in how the Biden administration views Israel: less as a trusted partner and more as an unpredictable foreign government to be analyzed and understood.”

The CNN report comes as war cabinet minister Benny Gantz is expected to announce the withdrawal of his party from the government tomorrow night.

The move would mean he is fulfilling an ultimatum he set to Netanyahu last month demanding a commitment to an agreed-upon vision for the Gaza conflict that would include stipulating who might rule the territory in a scenario in which Hamas has been defeated.