Right, so Donald Trump is out here insisting Israel is absolutely thrilled with his latest Gaza masterstroke. The pitch, at least in theory, was a classic Trump-style swap: Hamas gives up its weapons under the watchful eyes of international clipboard-carriers, a group of technocrats is dropped in to run Gaza, and Israeli troops quietly withdraw, sector by sector, as long as everyone follows the rules and he gets a gold star. That was the sales pitch, at least. Oh, but the Israeli hard right didn’t like it. Ben-Gvir said throw it out. Smotrich said victory means bringing Israeli settlers back into Gaza. Meanwhile, as Trump is busy selling his withdrawal vision, Israel is pouring concrete and constructing a new military fort on the ruins of a Palestinian fishing village very much in Gaza. Nothing says 'we're leaving' quite like a brand-new bunker in the place you’re supposed to be getting out of. This was supposed to be the plan that forced Hamas to surrender though. Instead, Netanyahu has Trump already softening his own terms, the settler ministers such as Ben Gvir and Smotrich are demanding the exact opposite of withdrawal, and Palestinians are still being killed and forced from their homes while the self-proclaimed dealmaker stands there insisting everyone is just delighted. Trump got played, and Netanyahu, between Trump and his settler coalition handlers has boxed himself in with all the finesse of a man trying to assemble IKEA furniture blindfolded and missing half the screws. And Hamas, for once, gets to watch Trump’s deal wave the white flag long before they ever would. Best breakthrough anyone has ever achieved. Never mind whether Netanyahu has endorsed the actual terms. Never mind whether the ministers keeping Netanyahu in power are openly threatening to reject them. Never mind the small matter of Israel continuing to attack the territory it is supposedly preparing to leave. Those pesky, tedious little details that only matter if you are in contact with reality.

But the Donald, as always, had an announcement to make.