Israel's attacks on Gaza are about to enter their third year. Although there have been brief cease-fires during this period, unfortunately, it has not been possible to reach a peace agreement that would stop Israel's massacres and put an end to the atrocities and human tragedy unfolding in Gaza.
Before he was elected, U.S. President Donald Trump promised to end the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, raising expectations among everyone, especially Palestinians. However, after Trump won the election and took office, his failure to end the wars caused great disappointment.
Although Trump has claimed that he has stopped seven wars so far, therefore deserving the Nobel Peace Prize, he has been constantly criticized because the status quo in Ukraine and Gaza has not changed. Despite all this criticism, it was believed that Trump wanted to go down in history as the president who stopped ongoing wars, especially in Gaza and that he would do everything in his power to achieve this. Moreover, recent developments have corroborated these claims.
Particularly after Israel's attack on Doha, it began to be rumored that Trump and his team had prepared a 21-point peace plan that would not only end the genocide in Gaza but also bring peace to the Middle East in general, and that this plan would be announced shortly.
However, to better understand this process, the following should be explained: How Trump's 21-point peace plan came about and its contents; the expectations of regional countries regarding this plan; how Hamas resisted the pressure to accept the plan after Trump changed it following his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; and its response to the plan imposed on it.
It was stated that the pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel stance displayed by world leaders who came to New York for the opening of the 80th session of the U.N. General Assembly between Sept. 22 and 26 prompted Trump to take action and seize the opportunity to do something regarding Gaza. In particular, the fact that the leaders of eight Muslim countries, including Türkiye, held a minisummit with Trump on the issue of Palestine, during which they demanded an end to the genocide, accelerated this process. It was demanded of Trump to stop Israel and maintain peace and stability throughout the Middle East. In return, these countries declared their full support in this matter and promised to contribute to both persuading Hamas and rebuilding Gaza.
In statements made after the summit, it was announced that Trump had prepared a peace plan that would ensure the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas, the disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from the administration of Gaza, the guarantee that Gazans could remain on their land, Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and that it would not annex the West Bank.
Since Israel also had to accept Trump's plan, it was announced that the final version of the plan would be presented after the meeting between Trump and Netanyahu on Sept. 29. Following a meeting between the two leaders that lasted over three hours, it was announced at a news conference that Israel had accepted Trump's Gaza plan, but only after making some changes to the initial plan and tailoring it exactly to Israel's wishes.
Although the previous text emphasized that the Israeli army would completely withdraw from Gaza, the new plan mentions a gradual withdrawal, and Netanyahu later stated that the army would not withdraw from Gaza. There are disagreements regarding the disarmament of Hamas and who will govern Gaza in the postwar period. This is because Netanyahu's dictated plan envisaged Hamas immediately laying down its arms, while also envisaging former British Prime Minister Tony Blair being appointed to head the interim government.
Similarly, while the previous text made a strong reference to a two-state solution plan, the announced plan makes this conditional on the current Palestinian leadership fulfilling certain conditions. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that Israel will not attack again or that it will accept the two-state solution plan. Therefore, it was necessary to clarify the contentious issues and determine the details of the implementation provisions.
However, Israel changed the plan entirely according to its own interests and, through Trump, threatened Hamas in an attempt to secure acceptance of the plan, which was not actually a cease-fire or peace agreement but rather a “surrender agreement.”
Trump's 21-point plan was reduced to 20 points following Netanyahu's intervention, and the clause concerning Qatar was removed from the previous plan. It was decided to establish a mechanism to resolve the issues between the U.S., Qatar and Israel.
This plan has been conveyed to Hamas by the negotiating countries for evaluation. In a statement made by Trump, it was stated that Hamas is expected to respond within three to four days, and if Hamas accepts the plan, its implementation will begin immediately; if not, support will be given to Israel's attacks aimed at eliminating Hamas.
However, as the Global Sumud Flotilla, which had set sail to break the blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, approached Gaza waters, Israel intervened unlawfully. Israel, which had been relatively relieved due to the Gaza plan, began to be heavily criticized and protested around the world for its treatment of the activists.
It was in this very atmosphere that Trump made a statement, giving Hamas until the evening of Oct. 6 to accept his plan, warning that if Hamas did not accept it by that deadline, he would unleash hell on Gaza. While the entire world was focused on how Hamas would respond, the news that Hamas had conveyed its response to the mediating countries on the night of Oct. 3 dropped like a bombshell.
Hamas, which did not categorically reject Trump's plan, stated that it welcomed Trump's efforts and conveyed that it was ready to release hostages and exchange prisoners, but wanted to negotiate on the future of Gaza and the rights of the Palestinian people. Hamas, which takes a different position from Israel, particularly on the issues of disarmament and who will govern Gaza, has stated its intention to postpone disarmament until after Israel's complete withdrawal from Gaza and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the framework of a two-state solution plan.
Hamas, which announced its desire to transfer the administration of Gaza to an independent technocratic government elected among Palestinians, also emphasized its opposition to administrations brought in from outside and to a stabilization force established outside Arab and Muslim countries.
Shortly after Hamas' response, Trump also posted a message stating that Hamas had accepted the plan and was ready to release the hostages, demanding that Israel immediately halt its bombing of Gaza. Trump, who stated that this would put the hostages' lives at risk, then shared a video message thanking Muslim countries that contributed to the process and stated that Qatar, along with Türkiye, had been very influential in this decision.
As far as can be understood, Trump was also more than satisfied with Hamas thanking him and generally accepting the plan, albeit with some requests for revisions. In fact, after reports emerged that Israel, dissatisfied with Trump's response to Hamas, would begin implementing the 20-point plan announced by Trump, which is actually Netanyahu's plan, even if it had to do so alone, the Israeli government was warned, and in the morning hours, the prime minister's office issued a statement announcing that they were ready to implement Trump's plan.
As a result, despite being undermined by Netanyahu, Trump's plan has been restored to its original form through Hamas' smart intervention and has returned to the shape initially promised by Trump to Muslim leaders. It is of utmost importance that this plan, which is hoped to stop the massacres and genocide in Gaza, be implemented immediately, as there is not a minute to lose. Attacks on Gaza must be stopped immediately, the blockade must be lifted, and humanitarian aid must be allowed in to give the people of Gaza a lifeline.
