'There Is a Limit to a Tyrant's Power'

July 20—So goes a famous line from the Schiller play, Wilhelm Tell. The Butcher of Gaza, Israel's messianic Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, is about to learn the meaning of those words as sources close to the White House reported that President Donald Trump has had enough with him, and has authorized a maximum pressure push to force through a proposed ceasefire/hostage release deal that Bibi has sabotaged, even as it nears agreement.

The tipping point—and what sources report provoked an outburst of anger and rage towards the Israeli misleader—was the report received by the President that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) had shelled the only Catholic Church in Gaza, the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, killing three innocent people. The IDF immediately tried to claim that it was a "stray" tank shell that hit the complex, which provided shelter to many people, victims of the genocide directed against Gaza by the murderous Netanyahu. Trump had long ago spoken with the late Pope Francis about the importance of the Church, whom the Pope communicated with on a near-daily basis, as standing for peace and reconciliation to all peoples, and had sought American help in protecting it and its mission.

Private Call and Unfiltered Rebuke

"What's with that fucking Netanyahu?" Trump is reported to have fumed after receiving reports of the attack. "Doesn't he know he should have never been operating near it? Motherfucker. He is fucking responsible, no one else."

These sources report that Trump was more furious that it was now hours after this disaster and Bibi had said nothing and done nothing, and instead was "playing" with the religious parties over his failure to deliver a draft-dodging exemption for religious students, who—while supporting and even calling for greater genocide of Palestinians—don't want to put their lives at risk or dirty their hands in Bibi's bloodbath in Gaza.

So, Trump put in an angry call to Netanyahu and told him to accept full responsibility for this mistake and to apologize to Catholics and the world for what happened, and call and apologize to Pope Leo. Trump also, these sources report, told Bibi to remove all his objections to the 60-day ceasefire deal on the table and sign onto a draft being worked on by his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who he would send into the negotiations next week. And, Trump reportedly added for good measure, "I don't give a fuck about your coalition members. They are a bunch of murderous Nazis. And tell them from me, that if anyone tries to build settlements in Gaza, I will order the U.S. to blow them up. That is not happening."

Aftermath and Vatican Response

Obviously, such statements will never appear in any official readout of the call, but Haaretz confirms that the call did deal with the attack on the Church: "On July 17, Netanyahu expressed 'deep regret that stray ammunition hit Gaza's Holy Family Church.' The statement came shortly after U.S. President Trump called Netanyahu, demanding that Israel take public responsibility for what the White House later described as 'a mistake.'

"PM Netanyahu called Pope Leo on Friday, the Vatican said, a day after an Israeli strike on Gaza's sole Catholic church killed three people and injured several more. Netanyahu 'expressed Israel's regret for the tragic incident' and 'sent Israel's heartfelt condolences for the families of those hurt in the incident,' according to a statement from his office.

"During the call, the pope renewed his appeal for a cease-fire and an end to the war in Gaza and expressed his concern over the 'dramatic' humanitarian situation in the Strip," a Vatican statement said."

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the highest-ranking Catholic official in Jerusalem, entered Gaza July 18 to bring humanitarian aid and pastoral care to victims of the IDF tank shell strike on the Holy Family Church. The aid is not only for Gaza's small Christian community but for "as many families as possible," the Patriarchate said, adding it ensured the evacuation of those wounded in the church strike. In an interview with Italy's Corriere della Sera, Pizzaballa said a Catholic presence would remain in Gaza "whatever happens," and expressed doubts about Israel's comments that the strike was a mistake.

Church Strike Alters Ceasefire Maps

Further, after the call, Bibi had the IDF send amended maps of their proposed withdrawal during the ceasefire that now removed the so-called Morag Corridor, a previously undesignated route between Khan Younis and the former city and present rubble heap, Rafah, that was viewed as essential to the herding of Gazans into the proposed concentration camp in Rafah, which, like the Hotel California, you can enter but cannot leave—unless you agree to "voluntarily" leave Gaza for as yet unknown, and really non-existent locations.

"Bibi keeps saying that Trump supports this concentration camp plan," said a source close to the White House. "He does not. All that he supports is the right of Gazans to determine for themselves without coercion from the IDF or anyone else whether they want to stay or leave Gaza, for either the time being or permanently. Period. Most importantly, he demands a ceasefire and return of all the hostages."

Rising Concerns Over Endless War Strategy

Hamas' military wing spokesperson said July 18 that the group offered "several times in recent months a comprehensive deal [to] hand over all [hostages] at once – but the Netanyahu government rejected the offer."

The Iz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades spokesman, Abu Obaida, warned that "if the enemy entrenches his position in this round of negotiations, we will not be able to guarantee a return to a partial deal, nor to the previously discussed ten-hostage offer." He said Hamas' strategy was now to inflict daily casualties among soldiers and try to kidnap them, noting there had been several recent attempts that have failed.

Trump is now coming around to the opinion, shared by Witkoff and others, that the only secure route to peace in the region must involve the removal of the Netanyahu government as what represents Israel. "This attack on the Church set off something in his mind about what he is dealing with," said the source. "He knows that it was not a mistake. Trump does not want and can ill afford to be an apologist for such a terrorist. The best way to create a crisis for Bibi is to push a deal through. He and the lunatic ministers don't want endless wars to stop; that's why they are eager to get something going with Syria. Do you think that these Kahanists care a bit about the Druze?"

"While the Israeli government is sending hints about a northern front and is brushing up scenarios for a new war on the Syrian border, the front in the Gaza Strip continues to bleed and the fate of the hostage deal remains hanging in the balance," wrote Haaretz in an editorial July 19. "The opportunity for a cease-fire is being missed while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lures the country toward a new confrontation, perhaps to avoid decisions on a front over which he can no longer hide behind slogans."

Only Trump has the power to change this, all the sources concur.