Topline
President Donald Trump on Monday outlined a comprehensive peace plan for the war in Gaza following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which would hand temporary control of the Palestinian territory to a committee overseen by a “Board of Peace” chaired by Trump.
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak at a press conference at the White House.
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Key Facts
Day-to-day governance of Gaza would be managed by a “technocratic, apolitical” committee made up of “qualified Palestinians and international experts,” and overseen by Trump’s “Board of Peace,” according to a 20-point plan the White House published Monday.
Trump said the “Board of Peace” will consist of other world leaders, only naming former British Prime Minister Tony Blair as one individual involved.
“It will be quite the board, everybody wants to be on it now,” Trump said at a joint press conference with Netanyahu.
Trump said he would lead the board “not at my request, believe me I’m very busy.”
“Hamas and other terrorist factions will play no role in the board,” Trump said, but also called for the Palestinian Islamist faction to accept the terms of the peace plan, which includes releasing all of the remaining hostages taken during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.
Hamas has not agreed to the terms as of Monday afternoon.
What To Watch For
Netanyahu said he supports Trump’s peace plan, but added if Hamas rejects it “Israel will finish the job by itself.” Both Trump and Netanyahu said the Palestinian Authority, which nominally governs the West Bank, will not have a role in Gaza’s government until it completes a “reform program.”
What Else Is In The Peace Plan?
In a 20-point peace plan published by the White House on Monday, the Trump administration called for Hamas to release all of the remaining hostages taken during the attacks on October 7, 2023, in return for Israel releasing “250 life sentence prisoners plus 1700 Gazans who were detained after October 7th 2023, including all women and children detained in that context.” Under the new proposal, no Palestinians would be forced out of Gaza, and refugees would be allowed to return. Members of Hamas who disarm and “commit to peaceful co-existence” would also be allowed to return, the policy reads—but the Islamist faction will play no future role in the territory’s government. The peace plan also calls for a “Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energize Gaza.” The policy proposal includes few concrete details as to what this would entail, but notes it would involve a panel of experts to review “thoughtful investment proposals and exciting development ideas” proposed by other international groups. It would also establish an “International Stabilization Force” that would vet a police force for the territory and work to protect its borders with Israel and Egypt. Israel, for its part, would agree not to occupy or annex Gaza, and Netanyahu confirmed his nation’s military would withdraw from the territory. However, the prime minister also said Israeli forces would “remain in the security perimeter for the foreseeable future.”
Key Background
Trump consistently brought up the Abraham Accords—one of his signature foreign policy wins during his first term in office that saw four Muslim majority nations—Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Sudan—normalize diplomatic relations with Israel. The president was hopeful the peace plan outlined on Monday could expand those agreements to more nations. During their White House meeting on Monday, Trump and Netanyahu also participated in a trilateral phone call with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani. Earlier this month, the Israeli military conducted an air strike targeting Hamas leadership in Qatar’s capital of Doha. Netanyahu apologized to the Qatari prime minister for the strike, sources told Reuters and Axios. Speaking alongside Netanyahu at their joint press conference, Trump described their phone call as a “heart-to-heart conversation.”