Benjamin Netanyahu’s dilemma: Should he heed Trump’s war ultimatum?

Donald Trump said overnight (Monday and Tuesday) that Hamas must release "all the hostages" and, if not, Israel must cancel the cease-fire agreement. Trump's ultimatum has put Netanyahu in a bind because the US president is flanking him on the right and is putting enormous pressure on him to adopt the ultimatum he gave to Hamas.

Trump added that the decision on whether to return to war depends on the State of Israel, and that the political and security considerations are in its hands.

Trump stated that as far as he is concerned, it is Israel's decision on when to cancel the cease-fire and bring hell to Gaza, hinting that he expects Netanyahu to adopt the ultimatum, or at least to present his own ultimatum to Hamas. 

For the prime minister, this is a huge dilemma: Should he risk the release of the three hostages on Shabbat and go all out with a demand to release them all now? Evading Trump's ultimatum could damage his relationship with the President – perhaps Israel's greatest strategic asset, which Netanyahu has painstakingly created and nurtured.

Trump's remarks tonight come after the announcement by the spokesman of Hamas' military wing, arch-terrorist Abu Obedia, that the terror organization is postponing the upcoming phase of the release of the hostages, which was supposed to take place this coming Saturday as part of the terrorist release deal and the ceasefire agreement.

After Hamas' announcement and even before the US president's statements about all the hostages, Israel prepared and raised alert in the Southern Command, along with a curfew for the combat forces and the operational formations in the sector. In addition, it was decided to significantly reinforce forces for defense missions in the area.

Channel 14 contributed to this article.