Much of the world has signaled support for President Donald Trump\u2019s 21-point proposal to end the nearly two-year-long war between Israel and Hamas and redevelop the Gaza Strip, even as analysts cast doubt on the way forward for the plan.<\/p>\n
Trump announced on Monday the proposal<\/a>, which demands that Hamas surrender and disarm and involves the phasing out of the Israeli Defense Forces from Gaza. It also involves an interim governing body led by Trump and former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair<\/a> and the introduction of a security force that will take over Israeli-occupied areas and train a vetted Palestinian police force.<\/p>\n Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to the plan, even as Israeli forces continued to escalate attacks in Gaza, killing at least 30 people on Tuesday, medical sources told Al Jazeera<\/a>. The Palestinian Authority, which partially governs the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said it welcomed Trump\u2019s efforts and pledged to make reforms that would allow it to return to governance. A senior Hamas official told the Associated Press<\/a> that the group would begin studying the proposal, which it received from Mideast mediators Egypt and Qatar, before responding.<\/p>\n The proposal has come amid prolonged calls for a ceasefire and heightened international condemnation of Israel\u2019s bombardment of the enclave, which several global bodies<\/a> and humanitarian groups say amounts to genocide<\/a>. More than 66,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza\u2019s Health Ministry. In the absence of independent monitoring on the ground, the ministry is the primary source for casualty data relied upon by humanitarian groups, journalists, and international bodies. Its figures do not\u00a0 differentiate between civilians and combatants and cannot be independently verified by TIME. Data from the IDF suggests a Palestinian civilian death rate of 83%<\/a>. The war began after the Hamas terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing over 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages. Nearly 2,000 Israelis, which includes both civilians and combatants, have been killed in the war, including those killed on Oct. 7.<\/p>\n Already, many global leaders have embraced the plan and urged Hamas to agree to it.<\/p>\n French President Emmanuel Macron said in a post<\/a> on X that he welcomes Trump\u2019s \u201ccommitment to ending the war in Gaza and securing the release of all hostages.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI expect Israel to engage resolutely on this basis. Hamas has no choice but to immediately release all hostages and follow this plan,\u201d he added. \u201cThese elements must pave the way for in-depth discussions with all relevant partners to build a lasting peace in the region, based on the two-state solution and on the principles endorsed by 142 UN member states, at the initiative of France and Saudi Arabia.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier this month, France, alongside the U.K., Australia, Canada, Malta, and Portugal, formally recognized<\/a> a sovereign Palestinian state<\/a>.<\/p>\n British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also welcomed the plan. \u201cWe call on all sides to come together and to work with the U.S. Administration to finalise this agreement and bring it into reality. Hamas should now agree to the plan and end the misery, by laying down their arms and releasing all remaining hostages,\u201d he said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n Spanish President Pedro Sanchez, who has been sharply critical<\/a> of Israel<\/a>, posted<\/a> on X, \u201c Spain welcomes the peace proposal for Gaza promoted by the United States. … The two-state solution, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, is the only possible one.\u201d<\/p>\n Italy\u2019s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said<\/a> the \u201cambitious\u201d proposal could be a \u201cturning point\u201d towards a permanent ceasefire, and urged Hamas to accept its terms. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called<\/a> the plan the \u201cbest chance\u201d at ending the war and said in a statement that he met with the families of German hostages held by Hamas on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said<\/a> that Trump\u2019s plan \u201cprovides a viable pathway to long term and sustainable peace, security and development for the Palestinian and Israeli people, as also for the larger West Asian region.\u201d<\/p>\n The foreign ministers of Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt also approved of the proposal in a joint statement<\/a>. The statement emphasized the proposal\u2019s terms to \u201cprevent the displacement of the Palestinian people and advance a comprehensive peace, as well as [Trump\u2019s] announcement<\/a> that he will not allow the annexation of the West Bank.\u201d It also reaffirmed the need for \u201cunrestricted delivery of sufficient humanitarian aid to Gaza\u201d and the full withdrawal of Israel\u2019s military in order to achieve a two-state solution \u201cunder which Gaza is fully integrated with the West Bank in a Palestinian state.\u201d<\/p>\n But some have suggested that Trump\u2019s proposal largely favors Israel and includes conditions that Hamas has stated are unacceptable.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an attempt to create American sponsored political cover for the continuation of genocide in Gaza, at a time where the entire world is rejecting that,\u201d Yousef Munayyer, head of the Palestine-Israel program at the Arab Center in Washington, told Bloomberg<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some Israeli officials have said as much. Knesset member Moshe Saada told news agency Jewish News Syndicate<\/a> that the proposal included conditions from Hamas that \u201cwe know it cannot do, such as releasing all the hostages without receiving anything in return and disarming,\u201d which would give Israel \u201ca green light to continue destroying Hamas, continue occupying Gaza City, and allow voluntary emigration out of Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n Within Israel, many officials celebrated the proposal. Israeli President Isaac Herzog said<\/a> the plan \u201coffers real hope for the release of the hostages, for ensuring the security of Israel, for ending the war, and for changing the reality in the Gaza Strip and the Middle East toward a new era of regional and international partnership. I welcome the plan and call for its rapid implementation.\u201d Israeli Democrats Chairman Yair Golan said<\/a> \u201cfull security support\u201d would be provided for the plan but that \u201cwe will only rejoice and celebrate when we see all the hostages back home.\u201d Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana appeared to tout ties between Netanyahu and Trump, posting<\/a> a photo of them at the news briefing for the proposal with the caption, \u201cYes, another league \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\u201d.\u00a0 Knesset member Avichay Buaron posted<\/a> on X, \u201cThis is what absolute victory looks like!\u201d Israeli opposition leaders, many of whom have criticized Netanyahu\u2019s military bombardment of Gaza, also expressed support for the plan.<\/p>\n But analysts said that, even if the plan wins over Hamas\u2014which would likely take significant pressure from Qatar and Turkey\u2014it\u2019s far from being realized, especially after a previous ceasefire agreement broke earlier this year<\/a> when Israel resumed military operations.<\/p>\n Michael Koplow, chief policy officer of Israel Policy Forum, posted<\/a> on X, \u201cTrump acts like this is a done deal for political purposes, Bibi reminds everyone that it is far from over for political purposes, and now comes the much harder part of getting Hamas on board and then overcoming all of the pitfalls of Israeli politics.\u201d<\/p>\n Some Israeli officials have reiterated a view that goes against a two-state solution, which the U.N. and most Western states have endorsed. Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said the proposal represented \u201cpeace through strength\u2014surrender or be destroyed,\u201d according to JNS, and vowed that \u201ca Palestinian state will never arise in the land of our forefathers!\u201d<\/p>\n The terms of the proposal reference the possibility of Palestinian self-determination and statehood once certain \u201cconditions may finally be in place.\u201d Knesset member Amit Halevi told JNS that the plan \u201cis not a realistic agreement\u201d because of that possibility. Instead, he said, the only outcome that would not be \u201ca disaster for Israel\u2019s future,\u201d is full IDF control of the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n Netanyahu also said in a video message released<\/a> on his Telegram channel on Tuesday that the Israeli military \u201cwill remain in most of the Gaza Strip,\u201d appearing to contradict the terms of the proposal, which bars Israel from occupying or annexing Gaza and details a gradual but complete withdrawal of the Israeli military.<\/p>\n Aaron David Miller, Carnegie senior fellow and former State Department analyst, said<\/a>, \u201cNetanyahu played this smart. close enough by redefining Trump\u2019s plan within his own needs and constraints. Even if Hamas accepts, the amount of negotiating, arguing and politicking will take weeks, if not months with no clear outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n