‘Historic day for peace’: Trump and Netanyahu agree on 20-point plan to end war in Gaza

(Photo credit: EPA)

Source: The Straits Times

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said they had agreed to a 20-point plan designed to end the war in Gaza, casting it as a “historic day for peace”, though the prospects for peace remained unclear without the direct involvement of Hamas.

Mr Trump said the framework had the support of other leaders from the Middle East and Muslim majority nations during a press conference on Sept 29 alongside Mr Netanyahu, suggesting it could lay the ground for a broader peace in the region. 

Still, the proposal – which mandates Hamas have no role in the future of Gaza – must be accepted by the militant group, which would need to agree to substantial concessions.

Hamas, which sparked the war with an Oct 7, 2023, attack on Israel said ahead of the Trump-Netanyahu meeting that it had not yet seen the plan and would need to study the proposal.

Mr Trump warned that “if Hamas rejects the deal” then Mr Netanyahu would “have our full backing” to destroy the militant group.

“We’re not quite finished. We have to get Hamas, but I think they’re going to be able to do this. So now it’s time for Hamas to accept the terms of the plan that we’ve put forward today,” Mr Trump said.

The plan stipulates that the two-year conflict would end immediately if accepted by both Israel and Hamas, and that all hostages and the remains of those who died would be returned within 72 hours. The agreement would also see Israel release nearly 2,000 prisoners and stipulates that Israel would not occupy or annex Gaza.

The proposal encourages Gaza residents to remain in place, pledges the immediate resumption of aid, and says a “panel of experts” would be convened to “rebuild and energise” the war-torn area with economic development. 

Mr Netanyahu, at the press conference, said he supported Mr Trump’s plan to end the war, saying it “achieves our war aims”.

“Israel will retain security responsibility, including a security perimeter for the foreseeable future,” he added.

The plan calls for Hamas to agree not to have any direct or indirect role in the governance of Gaza, instead handing control of the territory to a “technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for delivering the day-to-day running of public services.”

That body would be overseen by a “Board of Peace” to chaired by Mr Trump, and involve the participation of other world leaders, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The terms also reference a future where the conditions for a Palestinian state “may finally be in place” if the agreement is implemented.

Mr Trump cast the plan unveiled on Sept 29 as laying the groundwork for a possible broader Middle East peace, highlighting his efforts to convince more Arab Gulf states to normalise relations with Israel. And the president said Arab and Muslim parteners “are fully prepared to step up”.

“It’s just a part of the bigger picture, which is peace in the Middle East, and let’s call it eternal peace in the Middle East,” Mr Trump said of the 20-point plan. “So this is far more than anybody expected, but the level of support that I’ve had from the nations in the Middle East.”

Muslim states back Gaza plan

Key Muslim nations lent their weight to the plan, even as some Palestinians decried the proposal as a “farce”.

The countries include Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Pakistan.

They said they “affirm their readiness to engage positively and constructively with the United States and the parties toward finalising the agreement and ensuring its implementation”.

The Palestinian Authority hailed the announcement, saying in a statement that it “welcomes the sincere and determined efforts of President Donald J. Trump to end the war on Gaza, and affirms its confidence in his ability to find a path toward peace”.

But Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian armed group fighting alongside Hamas in Gaza, called the plan “a recipe for continued aggression against the Palestinian people”.

Residents of war-torn Gaza also expressed scepticism over the plan, dismissing it as a trick to release Israeli hostages that would not end the war.

Israel’s shekel jumped to a session high versus the dollar after Mr Trump said Mr Netanyahu had agreed to the plan.

Mr Trump shared his plan with leaders from Muslim-majority countries during a meeting in New York last week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and had teased the prospect of imminent progress.

Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu entered Sept 29’s meeting, their fourth this year, at a crossroads with Israel increasingly isolated on the international stage and intensifying pressure from the US president for a ceasefire.

The path to the agreement was also eased by a phone call – set up by Mr Trump – earlier on Sept 29 where Mr Netanyahu expressed regret to Qatar’s prime minister for a strike on Doha aimed at killing senior Hamas leaders. Qatar, a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, and the host of the largest US military base in the region was outraged by the strike, as were other Arab states.

Mr Netanyahu expressed regret that the strike accidentally killed a Qatari serviceman on the call, according to a White House readout.

Mr Trump said the Qatari PM and Mr Netanyahu had a “heart-to-heart” conversation and touted an agreement to create a formal trilateral working group between the three nations to “enhance mutual security, correct misperceptions and avoid future misgivings.”

Mr Trump has repeatedly demanded that Hamas, which is designated a terrorist group by the US and European Union, release the remaining hostages – many of whom are dead – taken in its assault.

‘It’s time’

But the US president, a steadfast supporter of Israel, has also signalled frustration with Mr Netanyahu’s continued pursuit of the war.

Mr Trump publicly rebuked Mr Netanyahu earlier in September after the strike on Doha and last week issued a stern warning that he would not let Mr Netanyahu annex the West Bank, a move that would risk further inflaming the region, jeopardise Mr Trump’s hopes of a broader normaliSation between Gulf Arab states and Israel and threaten the viability of any future Palestinian state. 

“I’ve never asked Israel to compromise its security, but we had big, strong talk. Nobody’s been better to Israel,” Mr Trump said on Sept 29. “Bibi, he understands it’s time.”