The same plan was given an international mandate when the UN Security Council Resolution 2803 adopted it on 17 November.
After the key condition Israel had used as a pretext to violate the ceasefire deal brokered by the US, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, daily, was met — with the return of all living and dead Israeli prisoners held by Hamas in Gaza, except for one — the world awaits moving to the so-called second stage of the deal which requires many difficult and complicated steps.
According to US media reports, by the end of this year, President Trump is expected to announce establishing the Board of Peace assigned overseeing the implementation of the entire plan. Board members are supposed to include key world leaders concerned not just with ending the war in Gaza but finding a permanent solution for the Palestinian cause — something that must involve establishing an independent state that includes all territories Israel illegally occupied on 5 June, 1967.
This board of peace should be backed by an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) as well as a technocratic Palestinian governing body assigned to carry out the extremely difficult task of the reconstruction of Gaza, as well as providing the urgently needed humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people after a nightmare genocidal war that lasted two years.
The newly created Palestinian body, with no relation to Hamas, should be closely linked to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah as the only representative of the aspirations of the Palestinian people and their struggle to end Israel’s racist occupation in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
While each of these steps is difficult by itself — with no clear answers so far on the composition of the board of peace, the make-up and mandate of or contributors to the ISF or the Palestinian members of the new Gaza government — there are immediate steps Israel is obliged to carry out. The Trump plan states there should be further withdrawal from the Gaza Strip beyond the so-called Yellow Line, an immediate opening of the Rafah crossing point between Egypt and Gaza for those wishing to return to their homes or leave for medical treatment, and unrestricted flow of humanitarian aid, medical supplies and fuel which Israel has been using as weapons of war since 7 October, 2023.
The main obstacle in the way of the Trump plan and the restoration of peace and stability in the region will remain the endless attempts by the current Israeli government to fail the deal and maintain the military occupation of Gaza as well as parts of Lebanon and Syria.
This was on clear display this week with Israel leaking reports on its readiness to re-open the Rafah Crossing, which is long overdue, in one direction only: Palestinians leaving Gaza. This could be nothing but a revival of the plot to forcibly displace Palestinians which Egypt has firmly rejected for the duration of Israel’s long, bloody war on Palestinians.
While Egypt withstood tremendous pressure to accept such an Israeli plan to end and liquidate the Palestinian people throughout the painful two years of war, it would be insane to expect Egypt to go along with such an attempt now, especially after the approval of the Trump plan which clearly affirms the right of Palestinians to stay in their land and enjoy freedom of movement.
Confirming that this Egyptian stand reflects the position of all the Arab and Muslim nations whose leaders met with Trump in New York in September and gave their backing to his peace plan, those same eight nations issued a joint statement on 5 December, expressing “their deep concern regarding the Israeli statements concerning the opening of the Rafah Crossing in one direction, with the aim of transferring residents of the Gaza Strip into the Arab Republic of Egypt.”
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia all stressed “their absolute rejection of any attempts to expel the Palestinian people from their land,” stressing the necessity of the full adherence to the Trump plan, including its provisions for keeping the Rafah Crossing open in both directions, ensuring freedom of movement for the population, and refraining from compelling any resident of the Gaza Strip to leave.
The eight foreign ministers also emphasised the importance of moving forward with the full implementation of the Trump plan without delay or obstruction, in order to achieve security and peace, and to consolidate the foundations of regional stability.
Hopes to move forward with carrying out the Trump plan would certainly be lost if we were to take seriously the statements made on Sunday by the Israeli army’s Chief-of-Staff Eyal Zamir, on turning the current illusionary “yellow line” in Gaza into a “new border line” dividing the tiny, 360-square km strip so that 60 per cent of its area is under Israeli occupation while two million Palestinians must squeeze into only 40 per cent under Hamas’ control.
“We will not allow Hamas to reestablish itself. We control large parts of the Gaza Strip and stand along [strategic] lines. The Yellow Line is a new border line, a forward defensive line for the communities and an offensive line,” Zamir said. These statements can only mean that Israel has decided to violate the Trump plan, delaying all the other vital steps the world is awaiting such as the formation of the board of peace, the ISF and the new Palestinian governing body.
Along with close Arab and Muslim allies, Egypt has stressed that without ending Israel’s occupation of all of Gaza, including the so-called buffer zones along the borders with Egypt and Israel, we will be only setting the stage for the renewing hostilities in Gaza and the region.
To delay any further Israeli withdrawals from Gaza, Israel will probably use the claim of failure to “disarm” Hamas, exactly in the same manner it delayed carrying out its obligations in the first stage of the Trump deal until the return of all its prisoners, living and dead, held by Hamas. There are many credible proposals on the table to deal with this issue, but that will be conditional on providing a clear pathway to end Israel’s occupation of just of Gaza but also of the West Bank and East Jerusalem in order to allow the creation of the state of Palestine.
However, Netanyahu has also confirmed his intention to fail the Trump plan by firmly rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state while receiving Germany’s prime minister this week. The US president, Europe as well as the entire international community that backed the plan to end the war in Gaza should deliver a clear message that, for peace to reign, Palestinians have to be treated equally and fairly. The current world effort to help the plan succeed is certainly not aimed only at meeting Israeli demands while disregarding Palestinian rights and aspirations.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 11 December, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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