Trump’s Peace Deal for Gaza; a digest
These articles were written before Hamas announced (October 4th) that it would comply with aspects of the proposals and would negotiate over others. Israel had made three air strikes this morning and Trump told Israel to stop bombing Gaza. He also said:
I appreciate that Israel has temporarily stopped the bombing in order to give the Hostage release and Peace Deal a chance to be completed, Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off … I will not tolerate delay, which many think will happen, or any outcome where Gaza poses a threat again … Let’s get this done, FAST. … Everyone will be treated fairly!
We can see nothing in this Plan that indicates that Palestinians will be treated fairly. Netanyahu has made it clear that he will not allow a Palestinian State or remove all Israeli military forces from Gaza. And this is before we get to the notion of a senior role for Tony Blair or the fact that the “Board of Peace” will be focused on business or even that the word “rights” is completely absent.
We sincerely hope that there is a cessation of fighting and that aid can get in; the people in Gaza are desperate for permanent respite from bombing, displacement and starvation. However, peace requires justice and the Palestinians cannot be expected to acquiesce to their subjugation.
LL
There are links to four pieces below: the first piece Trump’s Gaza Plan Is Mere “Repackaging of Genocide” for Israel’s Benefit is a Democracy Now interview with Palestinian-Canadian lawyer, Diana Buttu, the second, How Trump’s Gaza peace plan ignores the lessons of history
is by David Keys from North East Byline, the third is The great betrayal: Why Arab and Muslim rulers backed Trump’s Gaza plan by David Hearst, Middle East Eye and, finally, a Dropsite News piece by Jeremy Scahill and Jawa Ahmed How Hamas Is Navigating Trump’s Gaza Ultimatum is also from an interview with Mohammad Nazzal, a Hamas official published on October 2nd, which should help us understand the decision Hamas has made today.
LL
Democracy Now interview with Diana Buttu: Trump’s Gaza Plan Is Mere “Repackaging of Genocide” for Israel’s Benefit
“After a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Trump unveiled a 20-point peace plan for the Gaza Strip on Monday that aims to end Israel’s war on Gaza, free the remaining Israeli hostages and remove Hamas from power. Netanyahu expressed support for the deal, but he has already backed away from key elements, including a call for Israel to eventually pull its troops out of Gaza. Hamas has not responded yet to the deal. As part of his 20-point peace plan, Trump announced the establishment of an international transitional governing body called the “Board of Peace,” which Trump would head.
Palestinian human rights attorney Diana Buttu says the deal is “certainly not a plan that is going to end the genocide. What they’re simply attempting to do is repackage it.” Buttu also notes that while Trump met with Netanyahu before announcing the plan, Palestinians were not consulted. Buttu asks, “Why is it that Palestinians have been forced to negotiate an end to their genocide?”
Continue Reading : please note that this link also takes you to a video of the interview.
North East Bylines: How Trump’s Gaza peace plan ignores the lessons of history
Tragically some politicians never learn.
Let us hope against hope that US president Trump’s plan (backed, without many publicly-stated reservations, by so many world leaders) will provide long-term peace in Gaza and that it does, despite all the hurdles, result in a just and genuine ‘two state’ solution.
But the non-magnanimous, dictatorial and arrogant way it is being proposed does not bode well.
It is as if the deal on offer has been specifically designed to be unacceptable to Hamas (or at least to substantial elements within Hamas) or to be impossible for Hamas to deliver within the timeframes specified.
But if the US and its British and other supporters are genuinely sincere about wanting peace, they have very foolishly totally ignored the multiple and very consistent lessons of history.
Middle East Eye : The Great Betrayal: Why Arab and Muslim Rulers backed Trump’s Gaza plan
Regional leaders have responded to the bravery and steadfastness that Gaza’s Palestinians have shown with fear, cowardice and self-interest.
Arab and Muslim leaders can claim to have been duped into giving their backing to the plan unveiled by US President Donald Trump on Monday.
The plan announced in Washington was substantially different to the one they agreed to in New York. But that is the charitable way of reading what they have done.
Betrayal is another word that comes to mind.
A betrayal performed as a genocide is in full motion and which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been given a green light by Trump to continue.
The Qataris are furious they were written out of a mediation role and that Trump refused to delay the announcement. The Egyptians, too, are furious that the role of the Palestinian Authority (PA) has been downgraded and that Israeli forces will always remain in Rafah and along the border with Sinai.
Drop Site News: How Hamas Is Navigating Trump’s Gaza Ultimatum
Hamas officials are conducting an intense series of meetings with Palestinian factions and regional mediators to formulate the Palestinian response to the 20-point Gaza plan announced by President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday. On Tuesday, Trump gave Hamas “three or four days” to respond to what is effectively an ultimatum, threatening the U.S. would empower Israel to indefinitely continue its war of annihilation on Gaza if Hamas did not agree to the plan wholesale. When asked if there is room for Hamas to negotiate the terms, Trump replied, “not much.”
“Trump is dealing with us as if we have to accept this plan based on the well-known English phrase: Take it or leave it. This is unacceptable in political practice. It cannot be a matter of either accepting or rejecting an agreement outright,” said Mohammad Nazzal, a veteran Hamas official and longtime member of its political bureau, in an interview with Drop Site. “This plan was formulated without the participation of Hamas or any Palestinian party, including the Palestinian Authority. So how can the U.S. administration reach an agreement with one side of the conflict while excluding the Palestinian side?”
“This plan is not Trump’s plan; it is an Israeli plan,” he added. “I say this with deep regret: the United States of America has come to act as an agent of the Zionist entity.”
Nonetheless, Nazzal—who has been a member of Hamas since 1989 and has served in its political bureau since 1996—said Hamas is carefully reviewing the document and would soon offer its official response. “We are approaching the plan with a high degree of responsibility,” he said. “We began studying it and holding consultations as soon as we received it.”
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