What does Trump’s Peace Plan Mean for Gaza?
Photo Credit: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters via Al Jazeera
On Oct. 9, US President Donald Trump revealed that the first stage of his extensive peace plan was signed by both Israel and Hamas.
The plan was first shown, and initially accepted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Sept. 29 at the White House.
Four days later, Hamas — the Palestinian Nationalist Group that has held political control over Gaza since 2006 — said that it would agree to some points in the twenty-point peace plan, such as the requirement that they return their 48 Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip, and relinquish their control over the Gaza Strip. However, the militant group did not say whether they would attempt to adhere to the other points in the peace plan.
The plan addresses the two-year conflict that started on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas committed a string of armed incursions into Israel. Since then, there has been an ongoing Israeli military campaign, including both airstrikes and raids on Palestinian territory. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, at a press conference in New York, referred to the past two years in Gaza as a "level of death and destruction that has no parallel in [his] time in office."
Some points in the plan include the cessation of all military operations from both sides, including airstrikes, and a stop in the advancement of battle lines. As well, a provisional government would be set up composed of "qualified Palestinians and international experts,” with both Donald Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair at its helm.
Also included in the ceasefire agreement, and an issue that has been given much importance in previous discussions of an end to this conflict, is an assurance that "no one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return."
However, the plan does not include directly affirming Palestinian statehood or an elevation of their status at the United Nations from non-member observer state to full member. The deal does say that when the reformation program is carried out and Gaza is suitably developed, "the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood".
According to Al Jazeera, almost 100 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, and around 230 injured since the most recent ceasefire came into effect.
On Oct. 16, while the ceasefire was still in its infancy, Hamas had a delay in finding some of the bodies of deceased hostages. They were reportedly unable to access the bodies due to a lack of heavy machinery, which is currently subject to a ban enforced by Israel. However, as per Al Jazeera, Hamas has released all 20 living captives and has brought back 12 of the 28 bodies.
Later that day, President Trump shared on his social media platform Truthsocial that "If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the Deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them."
According to the Government Media Office in Gaza, Israel has committed around 80 distinct ceasefire violations, killing 97 Palestinians. The violations relate to both the ongoing military actions and the requisite amount of aid let into the Gaza Strip as outlined in the text of the ceasefire. According to Al Jazeera, on Oct. 17, the Israeli military fired at a civilian car and killed 11 members of the Shaaban family, who were trying to reach their home. The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) also carried out airstrikes on multiple parts of the Gaza Strip on Oct. 19.
On the other hand, Israel said that its forces were attacked by members of Hamas in the Rafah area on Oct. 19, and that two of their soldiers were killed. According to Al Jazeera, Rafah is a territory that Israel controls.
Then, on Oct. 20, after Israel vowed to follow the peace plan again, they killed several Palestinians, alleging that they “posed a threat” to Israeli soldiers by crossing the unmarked “yellow line” that Israel’s army had retreated behind, as per Al Jazeera.
Hamas has taken past strategies towards Palestinian liberation. Their most recent proposal for long-term peace and the drawing up of borders was in 2017. At the time, they offered to accept a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders, despite continuing to refuse to recognize Israel’s statehood. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused the eight-year-old deal, declaring that "Hamas is attempting to fool the world, but it will not succeed."