Middle East and North Africa

In October, U.S. President Donald Trump helped to secure a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel and, amid much fanfare, released a 20-point plan as a blueprint to resolve the intractable conflict. At the time, Israel was desperate to bring back hostages, and Hamas was desperate for an end to the relentless bombing of the Gaza Strip. And yet neither intended to give up their maximalist demands, nor did they wish to upset the U.S. president, who was determined to score a victory.

They agreed to Trump’s plan, each with their own understanding. Israel would withdraw to an agreed line and retain control of roughly 53 percent, of Gaza and allow for the reconstruction of the flattened environment only after Hamas disarmed, and Hamas would discuss disarmament once a determinable path was paved toward a future state of Palestine. Neither side was ready to make the first concession. The plan didn’t outline the sequence.

In October, U.S. President Donald Trump helped to secure a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel and, amid much fanfare, released a 20-point plan as a blueprint to resolve the intractable conflict. At the time, Israel was desperate to bring back hostages, and Hamas was desperate for an end to the relentless bombing of the Gaza Strip. And yet neither intended to give up their maximalist demands, nor did they wish to upset the U.S. president, who was determined to score a victory.

They agreed to Trump’s plan, each with their own understanding. Israel would withdraw to an agreed line and retain control of roughly 53 percent, of Gaza and allow for the reconstruction of the flattened environment only after Hamas disarmed, and Hamas would discuss disarmament once a determinable path was paved toward a future state of Palestine. Neither side was ready to make the first concession. The plan didn’t outline the sequence.

This wasn’t the plan’s only flaw. It also said that a “process of demilitarization of Gaza” would take place under the supervision of independent monitors, “through an agreed process of decommissioning.” But it didn’t specify who the monitors would be or what that process would look like: whether Hamas would give up heavy weapons at first or its small arms and tunnels and weapon production facilities.

This confusion is central to the slow progress of the Trump-led Board of Peace that was supposed to bring a conclusive end to the Gaza conflict. While Trump has been distracted by the war in Iran, people in Gaza continue to have no choice but to live in abysmal conditions.

A key task for the board was setting up an international stabilization force—troops from Arab, European, and even some Asian countries such as Indonesia—to manage security........

© Foreign Policy