- President Trump presented a 21-point Gaza peace proposal, prepared with Israeli inputs, to Arab and Muslim leaders.
- Details on financing Gaza’s reconstruction remain unclear, and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to reject a two-state solution, casting doubt on the plan’s viability.
- Arab leaders have warned the US that Israel’s aggressive actions risk undermining the Abraham Accords. The outcome now hinges on Trump’s upcoming meeting with Netanyahu in Washington.
Is a Gaza peace plan in the offing? US President Donald Trump seems to think so. Steve Witkoff, the US Middle East envoy has been working on it for the last few weeks. The 21 point proposal prepared by the Americans, with detailed inputs from Israel was presented by Trump to Arab and Muslim leaders he met in New York two days ago. Reports from the UN headquarters indicate that Arab leaders and ministers involved in the discussion are hopeful that the plan could work and is accepted by Hamas leadership now ready to free the remaining Israeli hostages.
Tony Blair, a former British prime minister, has also been roped in to help and set up an interim authority that would take care of Gaza for the next five years. Hamas will no longer control the enclave. Details of who will finance the reconstruction of the enclave that has been totally destroyed by Israel are not known.
"It's looking like we have a deal on Gaza. I think it's a deal that gets the hostages back, it's going to be a deal that ends the war," Reuters quoted Trump telling reporters on Friday. He did not offer further details. The President had also made it clear earlier that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank settlements, which Netanyahu’s cabinet colleagues want to include and expand the boundaries of the Zionist state.
Donald Trump knows that his Arab friends are upset with Israel’s high handed attitude. The attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, was a red line for Arabs rulers and the Americans were told that such behaviour would jeopardize the Abraham Accords signed between several Arab states and Israel. These accords are Trump’s legacy and the President is in no mood to tarnish the good work done during his first term.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who addressed the UNGA earlier, was defiant in his speech. He criticises the Western nations like the UK, Australian, France, Canada and several others for endorsing a Palestinian state. He has made it very clear that neither he nor the people of Israel are for a two-state solution that the world is talking about. He did not mention a peace plan.
Netanyahu is meeting Trump in Washington on Monday. This will be crucial. Much will depend on whether Netanyahu accepts the American peace proposal. The Israeli leader has in the past been able to convince Trump to come round to his viewpoint. Much will depend on what happens during the discussions. But there are many a slip between cup and lip and unless the agreement is sealed and signed no one can be sure.