Gaza: Netanyahu rejects Trump’s peace plan
Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he is against an Israeli military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and rejected the 15-point plan proposed by the US, which provides for the withdrawal of troops and the simultaneous disarmament of Hamas. Europe's press examines potential outcomes.
The two-state solution remains a dream
Kronen Zeitung is pessimistic about the prospects of reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians:
“In the West, and particularly in the EU, many people still dream of the two-state solution. But that is over and done with. It is dead. Above all, because nobody in the region itself believes in it any more. Ever since Hamas's terrorist attack in October 2023 in which more than 1,200 Jews were murdered, only a dwindling minority of Israelis can still imagine living alongside a Palestinian state. But the vast majority of Palestinians also reject this solution, because they do not accept Israel's right to exist. Yes, that dream did exist - once upon a time.”
This vote could be a game changer
La Vanguardia pins its hopes on Gadi Eizenkot, Netanyahu's challenger in the upcoming Israeli general election:
“If Eizenkot wins, there will be far more options for going ahead with the 15-point plan. Firstly, because Israel would most likely suspend military operations in accordance with last October's ceasefire so that the Palestinian experts tasked with verifying Hamas's disarmament would be able to work with safety guarantees. And the Board of Peace, the international body overseeing the transition, would have compelling arguments for an Israeli withdrawal once Hamas has been disarmed. The Israelis go to the polls on 27 October. It is within their power to ensure that Netanyahu no longer stands in the way of peace.”
US should up the pressure
The Guardian hopes Washington will put its foot down:
“The despairing Palestinians can only hope that growing White House frustration with Mr Netanyahu's forever wars will lead to a tipping point ... If he opted to use it, Mr Trump has the power to isolate the Israeli prime minister, call time on his temporising and manoeuvring, and compel a different approach. Board of Peace attempts yesterday to reassure the Israeli government over the verification process for disarming Hamas indicate that we are not close to that point.”
Washington seems powerless
Nobody believes in Trump's peace plans any more, Avvenire observes:
“The US now appears powerless, entangled in the labyrinthine thicket that the Middle East has become: it doesn't know how to extricate itself from the senseless war it has unleashed against Iran, caught between the intransigence of the Iranian negotiators and its own election timetable at home; it is struggling to curb the violence of the Israeli far right, which is also in the midst of an election campaign, while relations with its regional allies – and the Arab Gulf monarchies in particular – are becoming increasingly complicated.”
Israel increasingly isolated
Israel has taken another step towards isolation, Politiken notes:
“Israel has inflicted immense damage on itself and its already tarnished international reputation through its excessive use of force in the Gaza Strip and the rest of the Middle East over the past two and a half years. Even in the US, many have had enough. Almost half of the Democratic members of the House of Representatives voted to cut off all US aid to the country recently, and even among Republicans more than half of all voters under the age of 50 have a negative opinion of Israel. ... Should Netanyahu and his extremist allies be re-elected, Israel will be driven further into international isolation.”