US President Donald Trump announced in an interview with the "Axios" website on Sunday that negotiations on his plan to end the war in Gaza have entered their final stages, stressing that reaching an agreement could open the door to a wider peace in the Middle East.
Trump said: "Everyone has come together to reach the agreement, but we still have to accomplish it," noting that Arab countries played a pivotal role in mediation and cooperation, and that the "Hamas" movement is participating in the process through these mediations. He added: "The Arab world wants peace, Israel wants peace, and Bibi (Benjamin Netanyahu) wants peace." Trump explained that the plan is not limited to stopping the war in Gaza, but also includes launching a wider path towards achieving regional peace, saying: "If we accomplish this, it will be a great day for Israel and the Middle East." According to the Axios website, White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner are scheduled to meet in New York with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday to try to bridge the existing gaps between Washington and Tel Aviv regarding the plan, and Trump will meet Netanyahu in Washington tomorrow, Monday. The disagreements between the two sides revolve around the clause on disarming the Hamas movement, which Israel insists on making mandatory, in addition to the role of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza, which Netanyahu considers a red line. Trump's plan consists of 21 points, the most prominent of which are a permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages within 48 hours of the start of the truce, the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the release of about 250 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, in addition to about two thousand detainees from Gaza since October 7, 2023. The plan also provides for the formation of an international and Arab council that includes a representative of the Palestinian Authority to administer Gaza after the war, the formation of a technocratic government of independent figures, and the establishment of a joint security force of Palestinians, Arab and Muslim soldiers, with Arab funding to rebuild the sector. The items also include the process of disarming Hamas, granting amnesty to those who abandon violence from its members, in addition to an Israeli commitment not to annex lands from the West Bank or Gaza, and not to target Qatar in the future, as well as launching a serious path towards establishing a Palestinian state after deep reforms within the Palestinian Authority. In contrast, the Hamas movement confirmed that it had not received any new proposals from the mediators, noting that the talks have been suspended since the assassination attempt that targeted its leaders in the Qatari capital, Doha, at the beginning of this month.
