Netanyahu's government is stalling Trump's Gaza plan, US general warns

US Security Coordinator Lt.-Gen. Sean M. Salene criticized the Netanyahu government for stalling Trump administration efforts to strengthen the Palestinian Authority in Gaza, particularly training a new Palestinian police force. Speaking at Reichman University's ICT, he warned that counterterrorism requires more than military action and that Hamas operates as a global ecosystem.

US Security Coordinator Lt.-Gen. Sean M. Salene, speaking recently at the Reichman University Institute for Counterterrorism (ICT), went after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government for stalling aspects of the Trump administration's Gaza plan that strengthen the Palestinian Authority, particularly training a new Palestinian police force. Salene did not name Netanyahu directly. He argued counterterrorism is broader than military force: "you cannot address it only through the military lane. Addressing counterterrorism also has to address the ideology, has to address the education, and has to address the societal conditions." He noted only 16 serving US officers focus on the West Bank problem set. Salene said Israeli society has moved toward near-nonexistent risk tolerance, and that IDF security professionals now read threat as capability alone rather than capability plus intent, shaped by policy guidance and social pressure. He warned Hamas is not confined to Gaza or Judea and Samaria but exists in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, with financiers in Florida and Europe. He praised IDF Central Commander Maj.-Gen. Avi Bluth as "an incredibly principled leader," and credited Israeli-Palestinian security coordination with preventing this summer's crises from spiraling, warning West Bank destabilization would threaten Jordan's stability.