By P.K.Balachandran/Daily News

Colombo, September 30- At a meeting with leaders of eight Arab and Muslim countries in New York last Tuesday, US President Donald Trump presented a 21-point plan for ending the Gaza war.

This time, both Israel and Hamas may have to show flexibility given the political compulsions they face and the growing anxiety in the world about the colossal loss of lives and property in Gaza. Between 7 October 2023 and 17 September 2025, at least 65,062 Palestinians have been reportedly killed in Gaza and 165,697 injured. 60% of the buildings have been destroyed.

Dennis Ross writes in The Washington Post that if President Donald Trump truly wants to produce a new day in Gaza — and keep alive his hopes for a Nobel Peace Prize — he will have to use the leverage he has with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, when he meets him in Washington on September 29.  

“For all the bravado of Netanyahu’s speech to the United Nations on Friday, he has to feel uneasy about Trump’s categorical opposition to Israeli annexation of the West Bank and advancement of a 21-point plan for ending the brutal Gaza war. Netanyahu may have to tell his right-wing coalition partners that he simply could not defy Trump on annexation, given all the President has done for Israel — especially the US strikes against Iranian nuclear infrastructure. If Netanyahu does this, it will not be the first time that he will be doing it to keep his political base intact,” Ross says.

21-Point Plan  

As per Trump’s peace plan, there will be an immediate ceasefire. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) will gradually withdraw from Gaza. Hamas will give a commitment to destroying all offensive military infrastructure, including tunnels.

But most importantly, Hamas will have no role in Gaza’s governance whatsoever. Gaza will also be a de-radicalized so that it does not pose a threat to its neighbours.

Within 48 hours of Israel publicly accepting the deal, Hamas will return all living and deceased Israeli hostages. Once the hostages are returned, Israel will free several hundred Palestinians serving life sentences, and over 1,000 Gazans arrested.

After the hostages are returned, members of Hamas, who pledge to observe peaceful coexistence, will be granted amnesty. Hamas members who wish to leave Gaza will be granted safe passage to receiving countries.

The security of Gaza will be guaranteed by regional partners to ensure that Hamas and other Gaza factions comply with their obligations and that Gaza ceases to pose a threat to Israel or its own people.

Once this agreement is reached, aid will surge into Gaza and will be distributed — without interference from either side — by the United Nations and the Red Crescent, along with other international organizations not associated with either Israel or Hamas.

Gaza will be run by a temporary, transitional government of Palestinian technocrats who will be responsible for providing day-to-day services. It will be supervised by a new international body established by the US in consultation with Arab and European partners. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority (PA) will be reformed.

No one will be forced to leave Gaza.  Even those who left will be allowed to return. Gazans will be encouraged to remain in the Strip and offered an opportunity to build a better future there.

The US will work with Arab and other international partners to develop a temporary international stabilization security force for Gaza. It will train a Palestinian police force.

On its part, Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza, and the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) will gradually hand over territory it currently occupies to a security force to be established. Israel will also  agree not to carry out future strikes in Qatar, which had played a mediatory role in the Gaza conflict.

When Gaza’s redevelopment has been advanced and the PA reform program has been implemented, conditions may exist for the formation of a Palestinian State.  And the US will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians aiming at peaceful coexistence.

Trump Upbeat  

After the meeting with Arab and Muslim leaders, Trump said –   “This is my most important meeting. We’re going to end something that should have probably never started.” He added that he would discuss the plan with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he meets on Monday.   

But till now neither Israel nor Hamas has formally agreed to the plan. The Times of Israel quoted an Arab official as saying “Nothing is finalized … these are broad strokes. “There are still things that need to be ironed out.” The White House itself is yet to release an official statement.

Muslim Countries’ Reactions

Qatar, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the UAE, responded positively though they are pushing for additions like addressing Israeli settlements and Jerusalem’s status. Some Arab governments have agreed provisionally to participate in the international force but added that they needed to have more conversations.

Muslim countries want the Palestinian Authority to be given an ancillary role immediately following the cessation in fighting. Egypt appeared to be happy that Hamas would have no role in the governance of Gaza. A senior Israeli official is quoted as saying that some Arab leaders were privately happy about Israel killing Hamas leaders, “as long as it’s not on their territory.” The need to ensure Israel’s security was generally recognised.

Hamas said that it had not received any new proposals for a ceasefire in Gaza. But it added that it was ready to examine any proposal conveyed to it “positively and responsibly, in a way that safeguards the rights of the Palestinian people.”

Israel’s Reservations

The plan to encourage Palestinians to remain in Gaza has annoyed the far-right in the Israeli government. So also the proposal to create a political pathway to a future Palestinian State.  

In fact, Netanyahu told the UN General Assembly on Friday: “Giving the Palestinians a state one mile from Jerusalem after October 7th is like giving Al-Qaeda a state one mile from New York City after September 11th. This is sheer madness. It’s insane, and we won’t do it… Israel will not allow you to shove a terror state down our throats.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said on X on Saturday that Netanyahu “has no mandate to end the war without the complete defeat of Hamas.  Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, laid out two demands, namely, there be no role for the Palestinian Authority in governing Gaza or the West Bank and that Israel annex parts of the West Bank without recognizing a Palestinian State.

The West Bank mayors, council heads and other officials demand that West Bank should be under full Israeli sovereignty, despite Trump’s remark that he wouldn’t allow annexation.

However, despite his belligerence in the address at the UNGA,  Netanyahu may toe a softer line from now on as he is  aware that Trump was not happy with the bombing of Qatar aimed at killing the Hamas’ negotiators. Trump’s revealing his 21-point plan to eight heads of government of Arab and Muslim countries even before sharing it with Netanyahu indicates where US interest now lies.   

Some Israeli leaders have stressed the need to wrap up the war. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar tweeted that the “distinct Israeli interest is to end the war and achieve its goals.” The Degel Hatorah faction of the United Torah Judaism party, which has left the government and coalition but isn’t trying to topple the government, said that it supports “ending the war and returning the hostages.”

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid reiterated his longtime point that he is willing to give Netanyahu’s government a safety net to reach a hostage deal and end the war even if Ben Gvir and Smotrich threaten to bring down the government over the matter. And a recent survey conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) found that  64.5% wanted a ceasefire if that would result in the return of the hostages.

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