President’s plan contains 21 points addressing an end to the war in Gaza, and calls for a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the release of all hostages.
Jpost
US President Donald Trump plans to discuss his strategy for peace with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the American president said on Thursday.
‘I will tell Israel that we need to bring the hostages out,’ Trump said at the start of his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
‘I need to meet with Netanyahu; they know what I want, and I think we can finish this. We want the hostages – all of them. I think we are close to a deal.’
The President’s plan contains 21 points addressing an end to the war in Gaza, and calls for a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the release of all the hostages. It includes sections on the day after, proposing a governing mechanism with armed personnel in Gaza without Hamas.
This security force would consist of soldiers from Arab and Muslim countries, and Arab funding would support the new Gaza administration and the territory’s reconstruction.
Trump presented the plan to a group of Arab leaders and to senior European officials. Muslim states are expected to submit their comments on the 21-point plan.
Further, Qatar is expected to present the plan to senior Hamas officials residing in the country, according to two sources familiar with the details.
For the first time in a while, optimism and consensus can be heard among European and Arab diplomats regarding Trump’s planned strategy.
‘This is a good plan. These are the steps that we have been saying for two years could bring an end to the war,’ one diplomat said.
Israel has already been briefed on the details. It is discussing the plan with the US administration while making clear that the Jewish state will not agree to the Palestinian Authority having an active role in running Gaza City.
Netanyahu and Abbas’s addresses to the UN
Slated to speak at the UN General Assembly tomorrow, Netanyahu is scheduled to deliver his speech first.
Meanwhile, representatives of Arab states are likely to boycott the speech, and there are attempts to persuade additional delegates to leave the hall.
Before departing for the US, Netanyahu said, ‘At the UN General Assembly, I will tell our truth – the truth of Israeli citizens, the truth of IDF soldiers, the truth of our country. I will denounce the leaders who, instead of condemning the murderers, rapists, and child-burners, want to give them a state in the heart of the Land of Israel. That will not happen.’
The Prime Minister’s Office said that he was ‘preparing surprises’ for the speech.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said that the PA was prepared to renounce terrorism and make peace with Israel in his address to the UN General Assembly on Thursday.
‘We amended our National Charter, rejected violence and terrorism, and have adopted a culture of peace,’ Abbas said in his speech. ‘We made all our efforts to build the institutions of a modern Palestinian state that lives side by side in peace and security with Israel.’
‘But Israel did not adhere to the signed agreements, and has worked systematically on undermining them,’ he added.
This address was delivered to the summit via video, as the US denied Abbas and other Palestinians visas ahead of the assembly.
Entry was refused due to longstanding US and Israeli allegations that the PA and the PLO had failed to repudiate terrorism while pushing for ‘unilateral recognition’ of a Palestinian state.
The speech comes amid a renewed debate over Palestinian statehood recognition as the ongoing Israel-Hamas War rages on. France, the UK, Canada, and Portugal have recently recognized the country’s statehood, with several other countries expected to follow suit.
Abbas thanked the countries that have already recognized a Palestinian state and urged all those who have not yet done so to consider the move, saying, ‘Our people will not forget this noble position.’
Israel’s main ally, the US, has long said it supports the goal of a Palestinian state, but only after the Palestinians and Israel agree on terms for a two-state solution at negotiations.
In his speech, Abbas called for the ‘release of all hostages and prisoners on both sides,’ and for the end of the ongoing war.
He also called for an unhindered entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, and for a complete IDF withdrawal from the enclave, as well as the ‘rejection of the plans for displacement and putting an end to settlement’ and Israeli annexation of the West Bank.
Further, Abbas asked for the release of ‘Palestinian tax money’ currently held by Israel.
The leader of the Palestinian Authority added that the PA should take absolute governance over the Gaza Strip, effectively removing Hamas from power.
‘We want a modern civilian state that is free of violence, weapons, and extremism, one that respects law, human rights, and invests in development, technology, and education, not in wars and conflict,’ he said.
‘And we are extremely keen to empower women and the youth,’ he went on to say.
‘Jerusalem is the jewel of our heart and our eternal capital. We will not leave our homeland. We will not leave our lands,’ Abbas continued. ‘Our people will remain rooted like the olive trees, as firm as the rocks. We will rise from under the rubble to rebuild and send from our blessed and holy land the messages of hope and the sound of truth and righteousness.’