After meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on Monday, US President Trump announced that Israel supports the 20 point plan proposed by the United States for a ceasefire in Gaza and post-war arrangements. However, Hamas has not yet indicated whether it will accept this peace plan.
At a joint press conference on Monday (September 29), Trump issued a near ultimatum to Hamas to accept this plan, otherwise the United States will fully support Israel's continued military action in Gaza. Netanyahu warned that if Hamas refused, Israel would achieve its established goals on its own.
When Trump left the White House later, he told reporters that he would give Hamas three or four days to consider.
According to sources cited by American media, Hamas is inclined to accept the peace plan and will explain its response to the mediator on Wednesday (October 1). It is known that Qatar and Egypt have already explained the contents of the peace plan to Hamas.
At a joint press conference on Monday, Netanyahu praised Trump's peace plan and said, "I support your plan to end the Gaza War, which achieves our war goals. This will bring all hostages back to Israel, destroy Hamas' combat capabilities, end its political rule, and ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel
However, Netanyahu also said, "Mr. President, if Hamas rejects your plan, or if they accept your plan and then do everything in their power to obstruct it, Israel will complete this operation alone
Trump said that if Hamas does not accept the peace plan, he will "fully support" Israel's military action. But he insisted that Middle East peace was just around the corner and described the announcement of the Gaza peace plan as "perhaps one of the greatest days in the history of civilization".
Trump also stated that the peace plan laid the foundation for broader peace in the Middle East and that he is working to persuade more Arab countries in the Persian Gulf to normalize their relations with Israel.
For the 20 point plan, Trump said, "This is just part of a bigger blueprint, which is peace in the Middle East, and we call it permanent peace in the Middle East
The 20 point plan announced by the White House includes Hamas releasing all hostages within 72 hours after both sides agree to accept the ceasefire agreement in exchange for Palestinian prisoners imprisoned by Israel; Fully restore humanitarian aid to Gaza; Establish a non political temporary transitional governance body composed of Palestinians and international experts, supervised by a peace commission personally led by Trump; Demilitarize the Gaza Strip and deploy a temporary international stabilization force.
After making the announcement on Monday, Trump said that due to ongoing talks among key parties, he and Netanyahu would not answer media questions, and the two leaders left the venue after delivering their speeches.
The peace plan aims to appease Israel. Analysis: Hamas is expected to refuse
Some analysts believe that Hamas has long refused similar conditions and is expected to still say no. Xie Lin, a researcher at the Quincy Institute, a think tank in the United States, said that the United States expects Hamas to reject this plan, but in doing so, Hamas will be accused of being a stumbling block to peace.
Some argue that the peace plan is aimed at appeasing Israel. This is an attempt by the United States to provide political cover for the ongoing genocide in Gaza, despite global opposition, "said Munaier, director of the Palestine Israel program at the Washington Arab Center, a research institution in the United States
Some analysts also point out that Israel's right-wing coalition government ministers hope to annex Gaza and the West Bank, but the peace plan explicitly excludes this, which may pose political challenges for Netanyahu.
The United States and Israel will establish a trilateral working group to strengthen common security
In addition, the White House said on Monday that during the meeting between Trump and Netanyahu, Trump arranged for Netanyahu to call Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed from the Oval Office to apologize for the Israeli airstrike on Doha and promised not to launch any further attacks on Qatari territory in the future.
Trump said that Mohammed and Netanyahu had a candid conversation and emphasized that the United States, Israel, and Qatar have reached an agreement to establish a formal trilateral working group among the three countries to strengthen common security, eliminate misunderstandings, and avoid similar incidents in the future.
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