If Netanyahu screws up Gaza deal, Trump will ‘screw’ him: Senior US official

A senior American official has issued a stark warning to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that if he allows the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas to collapse, he will face severe consequences from US President Donald Trump, Israel's Channel 12 reported Thursday.

Speaking in Hebrew on Channel 12, Axios correspondent Barak Ravid said the US official warned him that Netanyahu is "walking a very thin tightrope with President Trump. If he keeps this up, he'll end up screwing up the deal, and if he screws up the deal, Donald Trump will screw him."

The official also told Ravid that US Vice President JD Vance, who concluded a diplomatic visit to Israel earlier Thursday, was shocked when he heard about Israel's parliament, or Knesset, giving preliminary approval Wednesday to two non-binding bills related to the annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank.

Speaking at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport before his departure, Vance criticized the vote, saying: "If this was a political stunt, it's a very foolish one. I personally take offence to it."

An Israeli official also told Channel 12 that Netanyahu had been warned several days earlier about the harsh reactions that would follow the vote but did nothing to prevent it.

The Israeli parliament approved the two annexation-related bills in a preliminary reading. Both drafts must pass three additional readings to become law.

The vote came despite opposition from Trump, who said last month that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. It also came during Vance's visit to Israel as part of a US diplomatic push to maintain the ceasefire in Gaza, which took effect on Oct. 10.