{"id":461460,"date":"2025-09-29T21:55:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T21:55:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/461460\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T21:55:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T21:55:13","slug":"trump-and-netanyahu-to-hamas-accept-gaza-peace-plan-or-face-consequences-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/461460\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump and Netanyahu to Hamas: accept Gaza peace plan or face consequences | Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"

Donald Trump<\/a> and Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a>, the Israeli prime minister, have delivered an ultimatum to Hamas, warning the militant group to accept their 20-point peace plan for Gaza or face the consequences.<\/p>\n

The two leaders met at the White House in Washington on Monday then held a joint press briefing in which they hailed their proposal as a historic breakthrough and new chapter for the Middle East.<\/p>\n

But it was clear that Hamas had not been consulted and its position on the terms remained uncertain. Mahmoud Mardawi, a Hamas official, said the group had not even received the plan, the Reuters news agency reported.<\/p>\n

It was later briefed that Qatari and Egyptian mediators met with Hamas on Monday evening to provide the group with the peace plan.<\/p>\n

Both Trump and Netanyahu made clear that they were not offering Hamas a choice in the matter. If the group refused, Trump told reporters, \u201cIsrael would have my full backing to finish the job of destroying the threat of Hamas.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I hope that we\u2019re going to have a deal for peace, and if Hamas rejects the deal \u2026 Bibi, you\u2019d have our full backing to do what you would have to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Israeli prime minister said ominously: \u201cIf Hamas rejects your plan, Mr President, or if they supposedly accept it and then do everything to counter it, then Israel will finish the job by itself. This can be done the easy way or it can be done the hard way, but it will be done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Netanyahu added: \u201cWe\u2019d prefer the easy way but it has to be done. All these goals must be achieved because we didn\u2019t fight this horrible fight, sacrifice the finest of our young men to have Hamas stay in Gaza<\/a> and threaten us again and again and again with these horrific massacres.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neither man took questions from reporters. Earlier the White House released the 20-point plan aimed at ending the war in the Palestinian territory that erupted after the deadly attack on 7 October 2023.<\/p>\n

It calls for a ceasefire, a swap of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, a staged Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territory, Hamas disarmament and a transitional government led by an international body.<\/p>\n

Trump said: \u201cIf accepted by Hamas, this proposal calls for the release of all remaining hostages immediately, but in no case more than 72 hours \u2026 The hostages are coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n

The plan also demands that Hamas lay down its arms and renounce governance in the strip. Hamas members who commit to peaceful coexistence would be given amnesty to remain in Gaza or they would be granted safe passage to receiving countries.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s plan would also establish a temporary governing board that would be headed by Trump himself and include Tony Blair, the former British prime minister.<\/p>\n

Trump said: \u201cTo ensure the success of this effort, my plan calls for a new international oversight body \u2013 the Board of Peace \u2013 which will be headed, not at my request \u2026 by a gentleman known as President Donald J Trump of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier, a leaked 21-page draft document, seen by the Guardian and Haaretz in Israel<\/a>, showed that a postwar Gaza governing authority would sideline key Palestinian political figures while giving significant authority to its chair on most key issues.<\/p>\n

The president caused uproar earlier this year when he spoke of turning Gaza into a \u201cRiviera of the Middle East\u201d<\/a> that involved massive financial investment and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.<\/p>\n

Monday\u2019s 20-point plan does state that \u201ca Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energise Gaza will be created by convening a panel of experts who have helped birth some of the thriving modern miracle cities in the Middle East\u201d.<\/p>\n

But it also notes: \u201cNo one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the joint press briefing in the state dining room, against a backdrop of US and Israel flags, Trump said they were \u201cbeyond very close\u201d to forging the elusive peace deal and that he hoped Hamas militants would also accept it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not quite finished. We have to get Hamas, but I think they\u2019re going to be able to do that. So now it\u2019s time for Hamas to accept the terms of the plan that we\u2019ve put forward today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump added: \u201cI also want to thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for agreeing to the plan and for trusting that if we work together, we can bring an end to the death and destruction that we\u2019ve seen for so many years, decades, even centuries and begin a new chapter of security, peace and prosperity for the entire region.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Netanyahu\u2019s fourth visit to the White House since Trump returned to office in January, the rightwing Israeli leader was looking to shore up his country\u2019s most important relationship after a slew of western leaders formally embraced Palestinian statehood<\/a> last week in defiance of the US and Israel.<\/p>\n

Trump, who sharply criticised the recognition moves as a prize for Hamas, was seeking Netanyahu\u2019s agreement despite Israel\u2019s misgivings on parts of the plan.<\/p>\n

Washington presented its peace plan to Arab and Muslim states on the sidelines of the UN general assembly last week, and Trump\u2019s main objective on Monday was to try to close the remaining gaps with Netanyahu. He appeared to have succeeded.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu, who has an international criminal court (ICC) arrest warrant against him for alleged crimes including starvation as a method of warfare, used the White House platform to lavish praise on Trump and list his demands.<\/p>\n

\u201cI support your plan to end the war in Gaza, which achieves our war aims,\u201d he said. \u201cIt will bring back to Israel all our hostages, dismantle Hamas\u2019 military capabilities, end its political rule, and ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cHamas will be disarmed. Gaza will be demilitarized. Israel will retain security responsibility, including a security perimeter, for the foreseeable future. And lastly, Gaza will have a peaceful, civilian administration that is run neither by Hamas nor by the Palestinian Authority.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Hamas\u2019s apparent absence from the negotiations has raised questions about the prospects for the latest initiative.<\/p>\n

In a statement late on Monday, Blair said: \u201cPresident Trump has put down a bold and intelligent plan which, if agreed, can end the war, bring immediate relief to Gaza, the chance of a brighter and better future for its people, while ensuring Israel\u2019s absolute and enduring security and the release of all hostages.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt offers us the best chance of ending two years of war, misery and suffering, and I thank President Trump for his leadership, determination and commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Netanyahu earlier extended a formal apology to his Qatari counterpart for a recent military strike targeting Hamas officials in the Gulf emirate<\/a> that infuriated Arab leaders and triggered rare criticism by the US of Israel.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu made the call to Qatar\u2019s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, as he met with Trump, according to the White House.
Trump described the exchange between the Israeli and Qatari leader as a \u201cheart-to-heart\u201d call.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a first step, Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed his deep regret that Israel\u2019s missile strike against Hamas targets in Qatar unintentionally killed a Qatari serviceman,\u201d the White House said in a statement. \u201cHe further expressed regret that, in targeting Hamas leadership during hostage negotiations, Israel violated Qatari sovereignty and affirmed that Israel will not conduct such an attack again in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Netanyahu added to reporters: \u201cIsrael was targeting terrorists, it wasn\u2019t targeting Qatar, and of course we regretted the loss of the Qatari citizen who wasn\u2019t our target.\u201d<\/p>\n

Late on Monday the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Egypt welcomed Trump\u2019s announcement in a joint statement.<\/p>\n

The proposal was also welcomed by the Palestinian Authority, which said it supported Trump\u2019s \u201cdetermined efforts\u201d to end the war.<\/p>\n

But the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group chief, Ziad al-Nakhala, said he considered the plan a \u201crecipe to blow up the region\u201d. The group, which also has taken hostages, is an Iran-backed ally of Hamas.<\/p>\n

Previous US-backed ceasefire efforts have fallen apart due to a failure to bridge the gap between Israel and Hamas, and Netanyahu has vowed to continue fighting until Hamas is completely dismantled.<\/p>\n

The White House talks came as Israeli tanks on Monday thrust deeper into the heart of Gaza City. Israel has launched one of its biggest offensives of the war this month, with Netanyahu saying he aims to wipe out Hamas in its final redoubts. The Israeli offensive in Gaza has killed more than 65,000 people, mostly civilians, and injured more than 160,000 since 7 October 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, have delivered an ultimatum to Hamas, warning the militant…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461461,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[12,26],"class_list":{"0":"post-461460","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-news","9":"tag-world"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115289818800285870","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461460"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461460\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}