President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed on a comprehensive plan to end the war in Gaza, the two leaders announced following a meeting at the White House on Monday afternoon. “I support your plan to end the war in Gaza which achieves our war aims,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said at the joint press conference after the Oval Office meeting.
Hamas has yet to agree to the deal, President Trump said. If the Iran-backed terrorist group were to reject the plan, Israel would have ‘full’ U.S. backing to ‘finish the job’ in Gaza, he assured.
“If Hamas rejects the deal, which is always possible — they’re the only ones left, everyone else has accepted it, but I have a feeling that we’re going to have a positive answer,” President Trump said. “But if not, as you know, Bibi, you’d have our full backing to do what you would have to do.”
During the meeting, the White House released the much-anticipated 20-point “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict.”
“The plan calls for a temporary governing board that would be headed by Trump and include former British Prime Minister Tony Blair,” the Associated Press reported. “The plan does not require people to leave Gaza and calls for the war to end immediately if both sides accept it. It also calls for all remaining hostages to be released within 72 hours of Israel accepting the plan.”
Under the Trump plan, Arab and Muslim states will be responsible for disarming Hamas, a measure the terrorist group has rejected in the past. BBC reported:
Trump says the bodies of hostages who have died will be returned immediately, if the peace plan is agreed to. He says it will also mean “the immediate end to the war itself”.Arab and Muslim countries have committed to “de-militarise Gaza” quickly, as part of the plan.
In its initial response to the White House press conference, Hamas appears to have rejected the call to hand over weapons, a key requirement for the 20-point plan to succeed, Israel’s Ynetnews reported:
Against the backdrop of the Washington talks, senior Hamas official Taher al-Nounou told the Qatari network Al-Araby that Hamas was not part of the negotiations over the U.S. initiative. “So far there have been no direct or indirect discussions on the plan,” he said, adding that Hamas knew of it only through media leaks.He insisted that Hamas would not give up its weapons and tied the release of Israeli hostages to a complete end to the war and an IDF withdrawal from Gaza. Hamas, he said, was prepared to discuss a long-term cease-fire and had accepted an Egyptian proposal for an independent administration in Gaza.
At the onset of the meeting, the two leaders shook hands and cordially greeted each other at the White House driveway.
Before heading inside, President Trump told reporters that “very confident” that a ceasefire deal was within grasp. Last week, he floated a 21-point plan for ending the war in Gaza, which Hamas started on October 7, 2023, with the horrific massacre of over 12000 Israelis and the kidnapping of 251 hostages.
On Sunday, President Trump had hinted at a major development regarding the Middle East. “We have a real chance for Greatness in the Middle East. All are on board for something special, first time ever. We will get it done,” He posted on Truth Social.
During the Oval Office meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu called up his Qatari counterpart, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, to express regret over the recent Israeli strike against Hamas leadership based in the Arab kingdom.
Prime Minister Netanyahu acknowledged mutual grievances between the two countries, including Qatar’s long-standing support for the Islamic terror group Hamas. He assured Prime Minister Al Thani that Israel had no plans to strike the Qatar-based Hamas leadership. The Israeli leader also proposed setting up a U.S.-Israel-Qatar trilateral forum to mediate differences.
The White House released the transcript of the phone call, The Times of Israel reported:
“Mr. Prime Minister, I want you to know that Israel regrets that one of your citizens was killed in our strike,” says Netanyahu, according to his office.The call was arranged by US President Donald Trump, and took place while Netanyahu was in the White House.“I want to assure you that Israel was targeting Hamas, not Qataris,” he continues, adding that “Israel has no plan to violate your sovereignty again in the future, and I have made that commitment to the president.”Netanyahu tells Al Thani that he knows “your leadership has grievances against Israel and Israel has grievances against Qatar, from support for the Muslim Brotherhood to how Israel is portrayed on Al Jazeera to support for anti Israel sentiment on collage campuses.”He adds that he welcomes Trump’s initiative of establishing a trilateral forum to address “outstanding grievances.”
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY