It has been a while since the sense of anticipation about the outcome of a meeting between an American president and an Israeli prime minister was as tense as it was when Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu met in Washington last week. At stake was the question of whether Trump would allow any space for Netanyahu to thwart his plan for peace in Gaza, even implicitly, or if the president would make an offer the prime minister could not refuse.

Israel and Hamas said they would work with President Trump’s plan to end the war, but a number of sticking points could derail efforts to reach a diplomatic breakthrough.

Since Trump Declared an Imminent Cease-fire Agreement, Both Netanyahu and Hamas Are Making Sure They're Not Seen as the Side That Causes the Plan to Fail. But Signing a Hostage…