Bloomberg: What does Trump’s peace plan for Gaza promise?
Bloomberg reports that Hamas has accepted part of US President Donald Trump’s proposed plan to resolve the two-year-old war in Gaza, but has refrained from making a decision on other aspects of the proposed settlement.
Bloomberg reported that Hamas announced it would release the Israeli detainees, but left out other aspects of the proposed 20-point settlement, which was accepted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The plan calls for an immediate end to Israeli military operations, the immediate dispatch of full aid to Gaza, which is suffering from famine due to the blockade, and the release of approximately 1,700 Gaza residents held by Israel.
In addition, the plan also promises to rebuild and develop Gaza for the benefit of its people, while ensuring that Israel will not occupy or annex the Strip and that Israeli forces will gradually withdraw.
There is also a promise that no Gazan residents will be forced to leave the territory, after Trump raised concerns earlier this year when he suggested that the US government take over the Gaza Strip after displacing its residents and turning it into a tourist resort.
Bloomberg reported that Trump’s plan, in its most ambitious form, envisions Hamas doing what it has said it will never do: surrender, agreeing to disarm and relinquish all authority in the Gaza Strip, which it has ruled since 2007.
This step, according to the plan, will lead to the end of Israeli military operations in Gaza, their gradual replacement by international peacekeeping forces, the influx of significant aid, and the reconstruction of the devastated Strip.
The full plan calls for the return of the remaining 48 detainees, believed to number 48, including 20 survivors, and for the demilitarization of Gaza under the supervision of independent monitors to ensure it cannot pose a threat to Israel in the future.
According to the plan, Hamas will agree not to interfere in the administration of Gaza in any way, its members will be granted a general amnesty if they commit to peaceful coexistence and surrender their weapons, and safe passage to another country will be provided for those who wish to leave the Strip.
The plan calls for the United States to work with Arab states and other partners to establish a so-called international stabilization force, which would be deployed immediately in Gaza.
The idea is for the Israeli military to gradually hand over the territory it controls in Gaza to these stabilization forces, according to a yet-to-be-specified timeframe.
The plan calls for Israeli forces to maintain a presence along the Gaza perimeter until the area is completely secure from any renewed terrorist threat, while the international stabilization force is tasked with training and supporting a new local police force in Gaza, which is supposed to be responsible for the Strip’s long-term internal security.
The plan calls for the establishment of a temporary committee to manage public services and municipalities in Gaza, composed of Palestinian and international technocrats, overseen by an international council that includes former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and is chaired by Trump.
The plan acknowledges that statehood is the aspiration of the Palestinian people, and indicates that conditions may, over time, create a credible path to its realization.
