Donald Trump is bound to be disappointed, if not angry, by Israel’s negative reaction to his recent announcement regarding the prospects of peace in the Gaza Strip.

On July 29, nine days after Khalil al-Hayya was elected Hamas’ new political chieftain, Trump announced that Hamas had agreed to give up its weapons during future negotiations with the Board of Peace, a body created by the Trump administration last year. It is supposed to facilitate Trump’s 20-point plan and monitor the ceasefire that ended Israel’s war with Hamas in October 2024.

While Trump viewed his announcement as a milestone, Israel regarded it as a millstone

The Israeli government is profoundly skeptical that Hamas will surrender its weapons and is unlikely to pull back its forces from Gaza, as per Trump’s plan. Certainly, Netanyahu will not order a withdrawal before the October 27 general election. He faces an arduous reelection battle, and his far-right coalition partners have demanded no withdrawals from Gaza. Keeping this factor in mind, he has remained conspicuously and tellingly silent. His spokesmen, however, have expressed skepticism.

Hamas officials claim they have accepted the plan in principle, but are waiting for Israel’s approval. Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas official, told Reuters that Israel must accept it before Hamas disarms.

Israel will not consider a withdrawal unless Hamas – an organization that rejects Israel’s very existence – is prepared to relinquish its array of weapons.

And therein lies the Gordian knot that the Board of Peace may never succeed in untying.

Trump’s plan, which is to be carried out in “carefully structured phases,” is nothing if not ambitious.

It requires Hamas to surrender its weapons, destroy its vast network of tunnels, and hand over power to a new authority. It also envisages a phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the formation of a new technocratic Palestinian government, the deployment of an International Stabilization Force, and the reconstruction of that coastal enclave.

Gaza, with a population of 2.2 million, was virtually destroyed during Israel’s two-year war with Hamas from October 2023 to October 2024. Hamas ignited the conflict after several thousand of its heavily-armed gunmen attacked communities, towns and military bases in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing roughly 1,200 people and kidnapping 251........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)