Ramallah Backs Trump Peace Proposal as Hamas Weighs Response and Israel’s Right Wing Objects

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - The Palestinian Authority on Monday welcomed what it described as "sincere and tireless efforts" by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the devastating, nearly two-year-long war in Gaza. The endorsement came as President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood side-by-side at the White House to unveil a comprehensive 20-point peace plan, presenting it not as a negotiation but as an ultimatum to Hamas: accept the deal or face a renewed Israeli offensive with Washington's unconditional support.

According to a report from Sky News Arabia, the Palestinian Authority expressed its confidence in Trump's ability to "find a path towards peace" and stressed the importance of its partnership with the United States in achieving regional stability. The announcement capped a day of intense diplomatic maneuvering that included a crucial apology from Netanyahu to Qatar, aimed at resetting the stage for a final push to end a conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

Standing before the world's press, President Trump framed the announcement as a historic moment, declaring it "a beautiful day, potentially one of the great days ever in civilization."As reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP) and the New York Times, Trump said he and Netanyahu were "beyond very close" to a peace agreement and that he hoped Hamas would accept the proposal.

However, he immediately followed this optimism with a stark warning. If Hamas rejects the deal, Trump stated, Israel would have his "full backing to finish the job of destroying the threat of Hamas." Mr. Netanyahu echoed the sentiment, telling reporters, "If Hamas rejects your plan, Mr. President, or if they supposedly accept it and then do everything to counter it, then Israel will finish the job by itself," according to reports from the Associated Press (AP) and AFP. "This can be done the easy way or it can be done the hard way, but it will be done."

The 20-point proposal, published by the White House during the leaders' meeting, is a sweeping document that attempts to address the immediate crisis and the long-term governance of the Gaza Strip, as detailed by multiple news outlets including AP and Sky News Arabia. The plan calls for an immediate ceasefire, followed by the release of all remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas within 72 hours of the deal's acceptance.

In exchange, Israel would release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including many serving life sentences. Crucially, the plan demands the complete disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of Gaza. Following an Israeli withdrawal in phases, a transitional government led by an international body would be established to oversee Gaza.

According to the New York Times and AP reports, this governing committee, called the "Board of Peace," would be chaired by President Trump himself and include former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. This body would govern until it determines that a reformed Palestinian Authority is ready to take over. Mr. Blair, a controversial figure in the region for his role in the 2003 Iraq war, hailed the plan as "bold and intelligent," AFP reported.

The Palestinian Authority, based in the West Bank, issued a detailed statement welcoming the initiative. The Palestinian news agency reported that the Authority is committed to working with the U.S. and regional partners on a comprehensive agreement. This agreement, the statement outlined, must ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid, the release of hostages and prisoners, establish mechanisms to protect the Palestinian people, guarantee the ceasefire, prevent land annexation and displacement, and lead to a full Israeli withdrawal.

The Authority also reaffirmed its commitment to a Palestinian reform program, which includes holding presidential and parliamentary elections within a year of the war's end, and specified its goal of a "modern, democratic, unarmed Palestinian state, committed to pluralism and the peaceful transfer of power," according to Sky News Arabia.

This positive reception from the official Palestinian leadership in Ramallah was not mirrored on the streets of the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. AFP reporters spoke with displaced residents who expressed deep skepticism.

"We as a people will not accept this farce," said Abu Mazen Nassar, 52, one of the 1.9 million Gazans displaced by the war. Others voiced fears that the plan was a ploy to secure the release of hostages without any real guarantees of a lasting peace.

Hamas, meanwhile, has been non-committal. A senior Hamas official told AFP that the group would "respond once we receive it." Later, officials briefed on the talks confirmed that Qatari and Egyptian mediators had presented the proposal to Hamas negotiators, who were reviewing it in "good faith," according to AP and Sky News.

Taher al-Nounou, another senior Hamas official, stated in a televised interview reported by the New York Times that "no one contacted us, nor were we part of the negotiations around it."

The international reaction to the plan has been swift and largely supportive. In a significant diplomatic win for the Trump administration, a joint statement was issued by eight key Arab and Muslim nations: Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye, Indonesia, and Pakistan. 

According to AFP and AP, they hailed the agreement's "sincere efforts." Washington's main European allies, including the leaders of France, the UK, Germany, and Italy, also shared strong expressions of support, with European Union chief Antonio Costa urging all parties to "seize this moment to give peace a genuine chance."

A critical, and perhaps enabling, event for Monday's announcement was a carefully orchestrated apology from Prime Minister Netanyahu to Qatar. As reported extensively by the Times of Israel and AP, President Trump facilitated a phone call from the Oval Office between Netanyahu and his Qatari counterpart, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani.

During the call, Netanyahu expressed his "deep regret" for an Israeli missile strike in Doha on September 9 that targeted Hamas's political leadership. The strike, which failed to kill its primary targets but killed several lower-level Hamas members and a Qatari guard, had infuriated the Gulf state, causing it to halt its crucial role as a mediator.

A White House readout of the call stated that Netanyahu regretted violating Qatari sovereignty and "affirmed that Israel will not conduct such an attack again in the future." The Qatari government confirmed the call, stating its readiness to continue its involvement in peace efforts under the U.S. initiative.

This apology marked a dramatic reversal for Netanyahu, who as recently as the previous day had defended the strike, comparing it to the U.S. operation that killed Osama Bin Laden, according to the Times of Israel.

While the apology may have smoothed the diplomatic path forward, it immediately ignited a political firestorm within Netanyahu's own far-right coalition in Israel. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir took to social media, calling the Doha strike "important, just, and supremely moral," and labeled Qatar "an enemy state," as reported by the Times of Israel and Sky News.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich went further, comparing the apology to the 1938 Munich Agreement with Nazi Germany and calling it a "disgrace," according to the Times of Israel and reports from other Israeli media.

The backlash highlights the immense domestic pressure Netanyahu faces and the fragility of his governing coalition. The Times of Israel noted, however, that there are precedents for such apologies, including by Netanyahu himself to Türkiye and Jordan in previous incidents.

Despite Netanyahu's public backing of the plan, which he said "achieves our war aims," analysts and news reports have pointed to several potential pitfalls and areas of tension. Netanyahu stressed to reporters that Israeli forces would retain security responsibility for Gaza, including a buffer zone, "for the foreseeable future," a point that appears to differ from the plan's vision of an international stabilization force, as noted by AFP and the New York Times.

The plan's pathway to Palestinian statehood is also notably vague, stating only that when Gaza is rebuilt and reforms are carried out, "the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway" to a state. President Trump himself acknowledged that Netanyahu had strongly objected to the idea of Palestinian statehood during their meeting.

The proposal represents an immense gamble by President Trump, who has shown increasing frustration with the protracted conflict ahead of his fourth meeting with the Israeli premier this year alone, according to AFP. His administration is now deeply enmeshed in the outcome.

The New York Times quoted Aaron David Miller, a veteran Middle East analyst, who noted the extraordinary level of personal involvement from the U.S. president. "Trump signed up for something that I think is going to require an extraordinary amount of American involvement and monitoring, and he's made himself the key monitor," Miller said. "At the top of this full monty sits one Donald Trump."

Trump also reprised previous remarks on the real estate value of Gaza's coastline, lamenting that Israel had ever relinquished control of the land. "As a real estate person, I mean, they gave up the ocean," he said, according to the New York Times.

The war this plan seeks to end was triggered by Hamas's attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures. Israel's retaliatory offensive has since reduced much of the Gaza Strip to rubble and has killed 66,055 Palestinians, the majority of whom were also civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry that the United Nations deems reliable.

With Hamas now reviewing the proposal, the entire region holds its breath. The coming days will determine whether this ultimatum leads to a long-awaited peace or, as both Trump and Netanyahu have warned, unleashes an even more destructive chapter in this brutal war.