Trump thanked Netanyahu “for agreeing to the plan and for trusting that if we work together, we can bring an end to the death and destruction that we’ve seen for so many years, decades, even centuries, and begin a new chapter of security, peace and prosperity for the entire region”.
Netanyahu responded: “I support your plan to end the war in Gaza, which achieves our war aims.”
Smoke rises following an Israeli military strike in Gaza City last week.Credit: AP
“It will bring back to Israel all our hostages, dismantle Hamas’ military capabilities, end its political rule, and ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel,” he said.
It was clear, however, that Hamas remained the key to whether Trump’s peace proposals get off the ground, and the group’s absence from negotiations so far raised serious questions about the plan’s viability.
Trump went on to urge Palestinian people to take responsibility “for their destiny” and embrace his peace proposal.
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Qatar’s prime minister and Egypt’s intelligence chief presented Trump’s proposal to Hamas negotiators, who are now reviewing it in “good faith,” according to a person familiar with the matter. The person was not authorised to comment and spoke on the condition anonymity.
While Hamas has said in the past that it would agree to step back from governing Gaza, the militant group has refused to disarm, something Netanyahu has long demanded as part of any long-term truce to end the war.
Netanyahu earlier extended a formal apology to his Qatari counterpart for a recent military strike targeting Hamas officials in the Gulf emirate that infuriated Arab leaders and triggered rare criticism by the US of Israel.
Netanyahu made the call to Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, as he met with Trump, according to the White House.
Trump described the exchange between the Israeli and Qatari leader as a “heart-to-heart” call.
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“As a first step, Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed his deep regret that Israel’s missile strike against Hamas targets in Qatar unintentionally killed a Qatari serviceman,” the White House said in a statement. “He further expressed regret that, in targeting Hamas leadership during hostage negotiations, Israel violated Qatari sovereignty and affirmed that Israel will not conduct such an attack again in the future.”
The White House talks, and apology from Netanyahu, come at a tenuous moment. Israel is increasingly isolated, losing support from many countries that were long its steadfast allies. At home, Netanyahu’s governing coalition appears more fragile than ever. And the White House is showing signs of impatience.
It remains to be seen how Netanyahu will be able to justify to far-right members of his coalition his acceptance of the proposal after promising to press against the militant organisation until it was “eliminated.”
The Trump plan indicates that once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who “commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty.“
The plan adds that members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza would be provided safe passage to receiving countries.
Hamas is believed to be holding 48 hostages, 20 of whom are believed by Israel to be alive. The militant group has demanded Israel agree to end the war and withdraw from all of Gaza as part of any permanent ceasefire.
Trump discussed the US plan with Arab and Islamic leaders in New York last week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. It doesn’t include the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, which Trump appeared to endorse earlier this year.
Israel has launched one of its biggest offensives of the war this month, with Netanyahu saying he aims to wipe out Hamas in its final redoubts. The war has left much of Gaza in ruins and caused a major humanitarian crisis.
Hamas-led fighters killed about1200 people and captured 251 hostages in the attack on Israel, according to Israeli tallies. More than 66,000 Palestinians have since been killed in Israel’s assault, according to Gaza health authorities.
AP, Reuters
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