United States President Donald Trump secured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's backing for a wide-ranging Gaza peace plan after meeting in Washington on Monday. Met with enthusiasm from key Arab nations and European Union leaders, the proposal to end the war has yet to be approved by Hamas.
The 20-point plan calls for a ceasefire and the release of hostages by Hamas within 72 hours, as well as a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Hamas still holds 48 Israeli hostages – 20 of whom are believed by Israel to be alive.
In return, Israel would free 250 Palestinians serving life sentences in its prisons, as well as 1,700 people detained from Gaza since the war began.
Under the proposal, Hamas would have to disarm in return for an end to the fighting, humanitarian aid for Palestinians and the promise of reconstruction in Gaza.
"I support your plan to end the war in Gaza which achieves our war aims," Netanyahu said in a joint press conference with the US president at the White House.
"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."
Trump said that Israel would have his "full backing" to do so if Hamas did not accept the deal.
Sincere efforts
Trump insisted peace in the Middle East was "beyond very close" and described the announcement of the plan as a "potentially one of the great days ever in civilisation".
Eight key Arab and Muslim nations – Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan – hailed the agreement's "sincere efforts" in the wake of their own talks with Trump last week.
The Palestinian Authority, which is based in the West Bank but would be set for a role in a post-war Gaza government, also welcomed Trump's "sincere and determined efforts".
Washington's European allies promptly voiced support, with the leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy sharing strong expressions of support for the plan.
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French President Emmanuel Macron said in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that Hamas now had "no choice but to immediately free all the hostages" and called on Israel to "commit resolutely" to it.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office said the UK "strongly" supported Trump's "efforts to end the fighting, release the hostages and ensure the provision of urgent humanitarian assistance for the people of Gaza".
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez – who has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza – said Madrid "welcomes the peace proposal".
"We have to put an end to so much suffering," he said, adding that a two-state solution was "the only one possible".
European Union chief Antonio Costa urged all parties to "seize this moment to give peace a genuine chance".
Mixed reactions
Trump's plan sparked mixed reactions in a region scarred by nearly two years of devastating war.
A senior Hamas official told French news agency AFP that the group would "respond once we receive it". Qatari and Egyptian mediators later shared Trump's proposal with Hamas, another official briefed on the talks said.
Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian armed group fighting alongside Hamas in Gaza, called the plan "a recipe for continued aggression against the Palestinian people".
"Through this, Israel is attempting – via the United States – to impose what it could not achieve through war," it said.
In devastated Gaza, residents expressed scepticism that Trump's plan could end the war.
"We as a people will not accept this farce," Abu Mazen Nassar, 52 – one of 1.9 million Gazans displaced by the war – told AFP.
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For Hamas, the deal means being excluded from future roles in government, although those who agree to "peaceful co-existence" would be granted amnesty.
Netanyahu could also face trouble selling the deal to far-right members of his cabinet.
He stressed to reporters that Israeli forces would retain responsibility for Gaza security "for the foreseeable future" and cast doubt on the Palestinian Authority's role.
Trump's plan, meanwhile, leaves hope for Palestinian statehood – something he said Netanyahu had strongly objected to during the meeting.
Other key points in Trump's plan include deployment of a "temporary international stabilisation force" – and the creation of a transitional authority headed by him, and including former British prime minister Tony Blair.
Blair, still a controversial figure in much of the Middle East for his role in the 2003 Iraq war, hailed what he called a "bold and intelligent" plan.
(with AFP)
