From the Liveblog of
Sunday, June 1, 2025
Report: Netanyahu said Dermer did not ‘foresee the change’ in Trump’s stance on Gaza war
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleLazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently told Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer that he misread the Trump administration’s approach to the Middle East, the Ynet news outlet reports.
Citing senior government officials, the report says that Netanyahu has said in internal discussions that Dermer did not predict the US stance on the war in Gaza.
“Dermer did not pick up on what was happening, and in the end, they fooled him,” one of the sources says. “He was sure that the US would not oppose us — but in effect it is. He didn’t foresee the change in the US, and he still believes there will be coordination and hostility won’t emerge, even though reality is different.”
According to the report, Netanyahu is very concerned about the “woke right,” which is isolationist and generally hostile to Israel.
The Prime Minister’s Office tells The Times of Israel that the report is “fake news.”
An Israeli official tells The Times of Israel that there is a camp within the broader Prime Minister’s Office that opposes Dermer, especially since he has taken over as the head of the hostage negotiating team.
The Times of Israel Community.