BRUSSELS, August 12. /TASS/. US allies are increasingly losing confidence in Washington’s ability to achieve peace in the Middle East after Israel rejected a peace plan for the Gaza Strip, Politico reported.

According to the media outlet, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to accept the Gaza plan also undermines confidence in the US-led Board of Peace. It appears that the US either doesn’t have - or isn’t willing to exercise - the leverage needed to deliver on Gaza, a number of diplomats told Politico, expressing concern that this could affect the entire region.

"Netanyahu’s rejection of the peace plan carries significant implications for long-term regional stability and Israeli security," an Arab diplomat pointed out, adding: "President Trump is the only one to have the potential to influence this situation, as he could seek to reassert his political relevance by pressuring Netanyahu to reconsider his position."

A Western diplomat noted that Netanyahu’s refusal "once again shows that appeasing Israel only leads to more maximalist demands." "I don’t think it kills the [Board of Peace] but what it does do is once again show that Israel remains one of the obstacles to a viable two-state solution," he said.

Meanwhile, a White House official disagreed with those assessments. The Trump administration believes that Netanyahu is driven by political considerations ahead of Israel general elections, scheduled for the fall. According to the official, the Board of Peace "has actually been getting good cooperation on the ground as of late; so that’s what’s important."