Trump and Netanyahu’s 20-Point Gaza Ultimatum

In a long and rambling speech, President Trump called his proposed Gaza peace plan “the whole deal, everything getting solved…. peace in the Middle East.” Standing next to a grinning Israeli prime minister, he said it was a “historic day for peace.” In fact, he said, it would be “one of the great days ever in civilization.” Lots of smiles, lots of commercials for Trump’s incessant “I deserve the Nobel Peace Prize” campaign.

Lots of everything—except enforcement of any of Israel’s obligations. Except accountability. Except international law. Except justice. Not even any guarantee of an actual end to the genocide, or to the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza. Instead, as even one New York Times headline acknowledged, the 20-point plan “offers Netanyahu [a] victory lap.”

If you scan the text quickly enough, there are some potentially encouraging words. “The war will immediately end.” “Israeli forces will withdraw.” “Military operations will be suspended.” “All hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned.” And “Israel will release 250 life sentence prisoners plus 1700 Gazans who were detained after October 7, 2023, including all women and children detained.” Also: “Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza.” “Distribution and aid in the Gaza Strip will proceed without interference.”

That all sounds like an enormous relief for Palestinian suffering under the bombing, starvation, dislocation, and annihilation of Israel’s almost two-year-long genocide. But: An even slightly more careful read shows the limits. Israeli forces are supposed to withdraw, but only to a line inside Gaza, agreed to by the United States and Israel, where they will remain indefinitely. The release of all hostages is set for 72 hours after the agreement is signed—but Israel isn’t required to release any Palestinian prisoners until after all its hostages have been returned. Who will enforce that if Israel reneges?

Read the full article on The Nation