During a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, US President Donald Trump presented a plan to end the war in the Gaza Strip. The initiative aims to achieve a ceasefire, secure the release of hostages, demilitarise the region and create conditions for economic development.
According to Trump’s proposal, after the ceasefire and the halt of the advance of Israeli troops, Hamas and its allies must release all Israeli hostages (about 20 people) within three days and hand over the bodies of the dead (about 50). In response, Israel will release 250 Palestinians serving life sentences and 1,700 Gaza residents detained after the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023. In addition, for each hostage released, Israel will return the bodies of 15 dead Palestinians. The plan provides for amnesty for Hamas members who agree to disarm and move towards peaceful coexistence. The rest will be asked to leave Gaza.
Particular attention is paid to the humanitarian and economic components. UN agencies and the American-Israeli Gaza Humanitarian Fund will be granted the right to import and distribute aid. A temporary ‘technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee’ will govern Gaza until the Palestinian National Authority reforms.
The plan calls for dismantling Hamas’ military infrastructure, including the ‘Gaza Metro’ (a network of underground tunnels and bunkers). At the same time, a programme of ‘ideological reprogramming’ of society will be implemented, with a ban on calls for the destruction of Israel. These measures will be enforced by an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) with the participation of Arab and international partners, including Jordan and Egypt.
Trump announced the creation of a special economic zone in Gaza that would be attractive to international investors. The economic part of the plan was developed by Israeli IT entrepreneurs with the support of specialists from the American consulting company BCG.
The plan has already received support from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, the UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan and Indonesia. Hamas leaders will soon meet with representatives from Qatar and Turkey, where they will be given an ultimatum: agree to the plan or lose their support.
Trump’s plan is largely based on a project by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has been working on the initiative since the beginning of the war. Blair and his team discussed the project with Jared Kushner, Trump’s former advisor on the Middle East. In the final version, Blair will become a member of the Peace Council, the supreme governing body of Gaza under Trump’s leadership.
