20-point plan for Gaza: a chance for peace?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted a 20-point plan presented by US President Donald Trump with the aim of ending the war in Gaza. However Hamas, which was not involved in drawing up the plan, has yet to give its approval. The plan stipulates that the terrorist organisation must release all hostages and lay down its arms. In return, Israel's army would withdraw. The media discuss whether the initiative could really end the war.
A glimmer of hope
De Morgen sees cause for optimism:
“On the horizon looms the distant prospect of the right to self-determination and even a state of their own for Palestinians. ... Realism, and even scepticism, are still very much called for. ... Yet perhaps something has changed. The Arab world also longs for a more or less peaceful solution for the Palestinians and realises that this cannot be achieved through Hamas. Netanyahu has also grasped that a new geopolitical deception will plunge his country into isolation, as was evident at last week's UN summit.”
The Palestinians are being sidelined
Politiken welcomes the plan in principle but points to a lack of fairness:
“The most positive aspect is the recognition that the war must end and that Israel must withdraw from the Gaza Strip. At the same time, it is important that the US and the Arab countries assume some of the responsibility for reconstruction, and that all talk of expelling the Palestinians from the Gaza Strip be discontinued. By granting amnesty to Hamas fighters and threatening to give Israel a free hand, the plan is effectively an ultimatum to Hamas. On the negative side, it is completely one-sided and foresees no role for either Hamas or Palestinian self-government.”
Powerless and vulnerable
The plan foresees no role for the Palestinians themselves, the Irish Examiner also criticises:
“Given the power and influence the US wields in the region, could it not have flexed its muscles earlier to bring Israel and Hamas to the negotiating table? ... Thousands of Palestinian lives could have been spared if such a plan had been implemented sooner. Sharp-eyed readers will also notice a significant omission from the peace plan - the input of the people of Gaza. After months of armed attacks and man-made famine, their future now depends on the deliberations of others. It is the ultimate expression of their powerlessness and vulnerability.”
More a carte blanche than a peace plan
Il Manifesto suspects the plan is a ruse:
“The big question is whether Trump's road map is a peace plan or a plan to continue the war. These doubts are reinforced by a worrying sentence from the US president: if Hamas rejects the plan, Trump has promised that Israel will receive the full support of the United States to continue its war. This means that Netanyahu has the power to torpedo the plan at any moment. ... Although Israel has to make some concessions, ... it's clear that the plan does not include a date for the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip.”
Oil lobby will take the helm with Blair
Former British prime minister Tony Blair is to play an important role in implementing the peace plan. For Naftemporiki a bad idea:
“He is a politician who is hated by many Arabs throughout the Middle East because he pushed for the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 using false arguments. In addition, Blair is now seen as a symbol of a Western policy that is closely intertwined with the economy. He also has his eye on the natural gas reserves off the coast of Gaza. ... Gaza may become the new 'Eldorado' of the oil companies in the Middle East rather than the 'Riviera' that President Trump and the real estate agents had imagined.”
No long-term solution without building trust
Real peace will be a long time coming even if the Gaza war does end, warns the Salzburger Nachrichten:
“The past two years have radicalised people on both sides, and once again on both sides a traumatised generation is growing up which knows only hatred from the other side and supports the political forces that keep it burning. If the peace plan is implemented, it is just a plan - there is no peace yet. How could there be? There would have to be a cool-down and confidence-building phase. The so-called 'Board of Peace' would have to ensure that moderate forces gain momentum - and focus on education. Because two traumatised peoples are fighting for their traumas to be seen.”
An ambitious initiative
The initiative faces major obstacles but could nonetheless mark a promising starting point, writes Visão:
“It includes two or three details that will be difficult to implement: a government made up of Palestinian technocrats must be established in Gaza with international support, and the Israeli armed forces must gradually withdraw. ... To corner Hamas, the plan is to be executed in areas already free of its presence as a way to ensure that the Palestinian population feels the difference. ... In short, the plan will be difficult to implement but shows indications that there could be peace and prosperity in the Gaza Strip in due course.”
Hoping for a miracle
The plan is too vague to work, Le Soir concludes:
“One of its obvious flaws is that it provides for individual steps such as the phased withdrawal of the Israeli army, but without a timetable! Incidents on the ground could quickly serve as a pretext for Israel to block everything. ... As for Hamas, it must respond to a strange ultimatum: commit suicide or suffer Israel's deadly wrath. ... And it must release all hostages - whom it considered its last assets - within three days, and hope that Israel keeps its word and doesn't try to procrastinate or even sabotage the agreement. ... In short, the plan is far too vaguely worded and already contains the seeds of its own failure. All we can do is hope for a true miracle.”
The Israelis have had enough of war
Netanyahu had no choice but to go along with this, says La Repubblica:
“Several factors led Netanyahu to accept this compromise. The first is the exhaustion of a country that, after two years of protests and tensions, has had enough of war. And this goes not just for the families of the hostages, but also the families of the hundreds of thousands of reservists who are under arms. Added to this is an economy which, however strong, is paying a high price for the crisis: a decline in foreign investment, lack of growth and chaos on the labour market - the Israeli central bank estimates that between 2023 and 2025 the wars have cost 55.6 billion dollars [around 47 billion euros].”
A clever plan based on a solid template
The Daily Telegraph sees parallels with the deal that ended the Northern Ireland conflict:
“It owes much to the Good Friday agreement, which brought peace to Northern Ireland, the single biggest achievement in UK politics of the last 30 years. Central to both plans is their 'dynamism'. Rather than offering a fixed 'take it or leave it' set of proposals, they offer rewards which ratchet up over years. Through this mechanism, trust - and hopefully peace - is built, not through words, but actions over time. Even the language is similar. In just the same way the IRA was asked not to surrender its weapons but to put them 'beyond use', the same is true of the Gaza plan. Another feature common to the Northern Ireland plan is the idea of an amnesty for terrorists.”
An ambitious endeavour
Middle East expert Igor Semyvolos comments on Facebook:
“The involvement of an Arab-international coalition in the areas of security, administration and reconstruction is an ambitious endeavour, but it is encountering difficulties. Arab heads of state are demanding guarantees, especially regarding the West Bank and the status of Jerusalem, which runs counter to Israel's interests. ... The success of the plan depends on US influence over Israel, which could be limited given Netanyahu's tough stance. Nevertheless, the current Israeli government's room for manoeuvre appears to be shrinking considerably.”
Disastrous for Netanyahu
The plan could put an end to the Israeli leader's career, La Stampa postulates:
“The only person who can push Benjamin Netanyahu to sign Trump's proposed 21-point plan is Trump himself. Only a violent and immediate threat could force him to agree to a deal that would spell the end for him. ... The end of the war, perhaps, but certainly the end of his political career. ... For Bibi Netanyahu, these 21 points on the table represent a potential disaster. The Israeli prime minister knows that if he gives even an inch in these negotiations, which among other things foresee that the Palestinians remain in Gaza, his ministers would immediately abandon him.”
Details still a mystery
Der Standard sees fundamental questions left unanswered:
“The details of the 21 points with which Trump hopes to turn the tide in the Middle East are still unknown - and above all, how to achieve what has so far failed despite months of US-mediated negotiations between Hamas and Israel in which Egypt and Jordan were also involved: namely the release of the Israeli hostages who are still in the hands of Hamas. ... Israel is currently conducting a renewed ground offensive in Gaza City; a nightmare for the population for whom there are no safe places left and whose very existence is threatened by hunger and disease.”