Veteran analyst slams Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan: ‘Detached from reality’

According to Yehezkeli, no Arab force will succeed in restraining Hamas, and Trump’s vision is little more than an illusion.

By Yair Kleinbaum, JFeed

Veteran Arab affairs analyst Tzvika Yehezkeli issued sharp criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, calling it “detached from Middle Eastern reality” and warning against what he described as a naïve Western approach.

Speaking to Israeli media on Tuesday, Yehezkeli accused Trump of ignoring hard-learned lessons from past U.S. interventions in the region.

“Trump didn’t even start on October 7. He spoke endlessly about peace,” Yehezkeli said, referencing the Hamas attacks that ignited the war.

“He forgot all the lessons America learned in Afghanistan and Iraq, where militias and police forces tried to serve U.S. interests and ended up being driven out in disgrace. It’s as if there was never a war, never a Middle East, never Sunnis and Shiites, never an Arab Spring.”

Yehezkeli ridiculed Trump’s reported idea of bringing Iran into the Abraham Accords, questioning whether the president understands the region’s dynamics.

“I have no idea what this man sees on his screen,” he remarked.

According to Yehezkeli, no Arab force will succeed in restraining Hamas, and Trump’s vision is little more than an illusion.

“There are huge holes, a lot of fog, and illusions that already collapsed in the past,” he warned.

While praising Israel’s military gains, including the return of hostages and possible disarmament of Hamas, Yehezkeli stressed that the real question remains: “Who will actually do the job?”

He cautioned that any large-scale deal, especially one involving Palestinian Authority control over Gaza, could simply reset the situation without addressing Hamas’s extremist ideology.

“I’ve seen those press conferences with Arafat and Abbas. What followed was terror,” Yehezkeli said.

In conclusion, Yehezkeli argued that Trump’s approach reflects a fundamental gap between Western and Middle Eastern perspectives.

“The West still doesn’t understand the East. They are immersed in peace visions while the region butchers itself. Nobody will do the work for us. That is very far from what Trump said. Do not fall into Trump’s Western approach.”