US President Donald Trump on Monday unveiled a detailed plan to end the war in Gaza, redevelop the enclave and set the region on the path for what he promised could be "eternal peace".
Standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House nearly two years after the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks, Mr Trump said the plan could "bring an end to the death and destruction that we've seen for so many years, decades, even centuries".
The 20-point plan released by the White House states Gaza would become “a de-radicalised terror-free zone” that will be redeveloped for the benefit of Gazans.
If it is also accepted by Israel and Hamas, the war will end immediately, the plan states, and all remaining hostages would be released within 72 hours.
Mr Netanyahu, in his fourth White House visit since Mr Trump took office in January, said he supports the proposal because it will bring back all the hostages, dismantle Hamas's military capabilities and ensure Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.
"Hamas will be disarmed. Gaza will be demilitarised. Israel will retain security responsibility, including the security perimeter for the foreseeable future. And lastly, Gaza will have a peaceful civilian administration that is run neither by Hamas nor by the Palestinian Authority," he said.
A Hamas official said the group is studying the plan, despite adding that "there are non-negotiable principles that we cannot give up".
"The mediators have not presented the plan to us before tonight," said the Beirut-based official. The plan says Hamas can have no role "in any form" of governance in Gaza and all their military infrastructure would be decommissioned or destroyed.
Under the proposal, the US would work with Arab and international partners to develop a temporary International Stabilisation Force to immediately be posted in Gaza.
"The ISF will train and provide support to vetted Palestinian police forces in Gaza, and will consult with Jordan and Egypt who have extensive experience in this field. This force will be the long-term internal security solution," the plan states.
Gaza would be governed under the temporary transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee that would be made up of Palestinians and international experts.
Oversight and supervision of the governing body would be conducted by an international transitional body called the Board of Peace, which will be led and chaired by Mr Trump, with other members including British former prime minister Tony Blair.
The plan envisions sending "full aid" into Gaza and does not require Palestinians to leave. It stipulates the enclave will be redeveloped "for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who have suffered more than enough."
"It's just a part of the bigger picture, which is peace, and let's call it eternal peace in the Middle East," Mr Trump said. "So this is far more than anybody expected, but the level of support that I've had from the nations in the Middle East and surrounding Israel and neighbours of Israel has been incredible."
He said the "promise of a new Middle East is so clearly within our reach, this is the closest we’ve ever come to real peace, not political fools' peace".
The plan includes a "Trump economic development plan" to rebuild Gaza that will be convened by experts "who have helped birth some of the thriving modern miracle cities in the Middle East".
"No one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return. We will encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza," the plan states.
Michael Singh, managing director and Lane-Swig senior fellow at the Washington Institute, said the proposal faces many obstacles, the main one being that Hamas may reject it.
But the deal "usefully seeks to bridge the gaps that have plagued diplomacy so far", Mr Singh told The National.
"Even if Hamas rejects the proposal, its endorsement by Israel, Arab states and others will add diplomatic pressure to the military pressure that Hamas is already facing."
The Palestinian government in the occupied West Bank welcomed Mr Trump’s plan and pledged to implement reforms to return to Gaza and potentially clear the way for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Israel apologises to Qatar
In a remarkable development before the announcement, Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu held a three-way conversation with the Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, during which the Israeli Prime Minister apologised for the strike on Doha that killed five Hamas officials and a Qatari security officer.
"Israel was targeting terrorists. It wasn't targeting Qatar, and of course, we regretted the loss of the Qatari citizen," Mr Netanyahu told reporters.
He also expressed regret that Israel violated Qatari sovereignty and affirmed that it will not conduct such an attack again, the White House said.
Far-right Israeli coalition members, who form a bloc vital to Mr Netanyahu’s political survival and who are bitterly opposed to ending the war, condemned his public apology to Qatar.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich quoted British wartime prime minister Winston Churchill and called the “grovelling apology” a “disgrace”.
Mr Trump, Mr Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed agreed to the proposal to "establish a trilateral mechanism to enhance co-ordination, improve communication, resolve mutual grievances, and strengthen collective efforts to prevent threats".
They also discussed the proposal for ending the war in Gaza, prospects for a more secure Middle East, "and the need for greater understanding between their countries".
Outside the White House, which had been surrounded by tall fencing, a group of Orthodox Jews, from Jews United Against Zionism, many of whom had travelled to Washington from New York, protested against Mr Netanayahu's visit.
Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss said Zionism has transformed Judaism into nationalism.
"It's criminal by the laws of the Almighty to kill and steal to establish the state," he told The National.
"This occupation, it can be stopped, and just like apartheid was stopped, it can be stopped, and we can return to the old existence where Jews and Arabs live together in the streets of Jerusalem and every Arab and Muslim land."
Thomas Helm, Mohamad Ali Harisi and Thomas Watkins contributed to this report.
