President Donald Trump unveiled an ambitious Gaza peace plan—with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his side—that starts with fully eradicating Hamas. Should the terror group and Arab states refuse to take the deal, Trump said, the United States will grant Israel its “full backing” to “finish the job of destroying the threat of Hamas.”
Trump unveiled his 20-point peace plan Monday during a press conference at the White House, where he and Netanyahu outlined their vision for a regional accord that will bring an end to Israel’s war against Hamas, bring home the 48 remaining hostages, eliminate the terrorist threat, and set the stage for further Arab relations with the Jewish state. The proposal—which has the endorsements of Israel and, according to Trump, leading Arab nations—mandates Gaza become a “deradicalized terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors,” according to a copy of the draft plan provided by the White House.
“Everyone understands that the ultimate result must be the elimination of any danger posed in the region, and that danger is caused by Hamas,” Trump said. “If they’re unable to do so, then Israel would have the absolute right, and actually our full backing,” to destroy Hamas on the battlefield.
Trump announced the plan just three days after Netanyahu told the U.N. General Assembly Israel will never accept a Palestinian state created through international pressure and without preconditions on both Hamas and the West Bank’s Palestinian Authority (PA).
“We will not commit national suicide because you don’t have the guts to face down a hostile media and anti-Semitic mobs demanding Israel’s blood,” the Israeli prime minister said on Friday at the United Nations.
The Trump administration’s proposal, by contrast, “achieves our war aims,” Netanyahu said at the White House press conference.
“I support your plan to end the war in Gaza,” he added. “It will bring back to Israel all our hostages, dismantle Hamas military capabilities and its political rule, and ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.”
Trump, echoing his U.N. General Assembly address, lambasted the European nations that have recognized a Palestinian state, saying his new plan “is the closest we’ve ever come to real peace—not fake peace, not political fools’ peace.”
The war will “immediately end” once both sides agree to the deal, the terms laid out by the Trump administration hold. Hamas did not immediately comment on the matter, but it has consistently rejected U.S. and Israeli ceasefire offers since its Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
“Hamas and other factions agree to not have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly, indirectly, or in any form,” the draft proposal states. “All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt.”
Within the first 72 hours of a ceasefire, Hamas will have to return “all hostages”—both alive and dead—to Israel. Once the terror group completes that step, Israel will release 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences, as well as an additional 1,700 Gazans detained since Oct. 7.
Hamas members who “commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons” will receive amnesty under the terms of the deal. Israel will grant “safe passage” to those who wish to depart Gaza for countries like Qatar.
Trump emphasized that a temporary body composed of “qualified Palestinians,” international experts (like former British prime minister Tony Blair), and an assortment of Arab neighbors will take the lead in governing postwar Gaza. The PA, ruled by Mahmoud Abbas, will not participate until it undergoes a radical reformation process to root out extremism.
Trump’s peace plan hews closely to Israel’s own stated vision for a Gaza ceasefire, which includes the return of all hostages, Hamas’s disarmament, a demilitarized Gaza, and an Israeli force stationed along the border.
Israel reportedly outlined these demands to the White House ahead of Monday’s press conference, resulting in what the Times of Israel dubbed “dramatic changes” to the proposal. The final product makes clear, as Israel insisted, that a “security perimeter presence” of Israeli forces “remain until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat.”
Netanyahu stated that, while his country is willing to make many concessions along the road to peace, Israel will not hesitate to resume war operations if Hamas violates the terms of the agreement.
“If Hamas rejects your plan, Mr. President, or if they supposedly accept it and then basically do everything to counter it, then Israel will finish the job by itself,” he said. “This can be done the easy way, or it can be done the hard way, but it will be done.”
Original News Source – Washington Free Beacon
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