Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has agreed to US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace proposal to end the nearly two-year-long war in Gaza.
While it is unclear whether Hamas will accept the plan, diplomatic sources have told Al Jazeera that the militant group’s negotiating team is studying it.
Speaking in Washington on Monday, Netanyahu described the proposal as an important step towards ending the war and advancing peace in the Middle East.
“I support your plan to end the war on Gaza, which achieves our war aims. It will bring back to Israel all our hostages, dismantle Hamas’s military capabilities, end its political rule, and ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel,” he said
The plan has been welcomed by several Arab and European countries, as well as the Palestinian Authority.
Speaking at a joint press conference following a meeting with Netanyahu, Trump said they were “beyond very close” to a peace deal for the Palestinian enclave.
“We’re not quite finished. We have to get Hamas, but I think they’re going to be able to do that. So now it’s time for Hamas to accept the terms of the plan that we’ve put forward today,” he said.
Trump warned the Palestinian militant group that, should it refuse the deal, Israel would have Washington’s full backing “finish the job of destroying the threat of Hamas”.
The US president’s plan would see an immediate ceasefire, an exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, a staged Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, Hamas disarmament, and a transitional government led by an international body.
It does not require people to leave Gaza.
Hamas-led fighters killed around 1,200 people and captured 251 hostages in the 7 October 2023, attack on Israel, according to Israeli tallies.
More than 66,000 Palestinians have since been killed in Israel’s assault, according to Gaza’s health authorities.
Source: Africanews
