Conflict now a top priority

Trump proposes “peace council” for Gaza to Israel

Will Trump succeed in reaching the long-awaited deal to end the Gaza conflict? He himself is already convinced that it will.(Bild: AP/Evan Vucci)

Almost two years after the start of the Gaza conflict, US President Donald Trump has presented a comprehensive peace plan for the Middle East. He has made the conflict a top priority, saying that a solution is "more than very close". His plan comprises 20 points and is intended to show a path to a stable solution between Israelis and Palestinians.

The US President welcomed Netanyahu to the White House on Monday with the statement that "everyone wants to make the deal" - and ultimately made the conflict surrounding Israel and Hamas a top priority in the course of the meeting with the Israeli head of government. 

Trump sets clear conditions
Instead of the originally planned 21 points, Trump finally published 20 points to restore calm in the region - and thus take a significant step towards his fervent wish for the Nobel Peace Prize. He demanded this: All hostages should be released within 72 hours if an agreement is reached, and there should be no more fighting to achieve this.

According to Trump, the Arab and Muslim states should take care of disarming Hamas. The "infrastructure, tunnels and weapons of Hamas" must be destroyed. At the same time, police forces should be set up for the Gaza Strip. Trump wants to build "modern miracle cities" in the destroyed Gaza Strip and thus strengthen the coastal region.

Will Trump succeed in making the long-awaited deal to end the Gaza conflict? He himself is already convinced that it will.(Bild: AP/Evan Vucci)

"Nobody will be forced to leave Gaza"
It is also important for the parents of the hostages killed to get their children back. Trump calls the plan "Peace in the Middle East". This should last "forever", said the US President in his statement to the press.

The Israeli army is to withdraw from the destroyed coastal strip in several stages, while Hamas terrorists who want to leave Gaza are to be given free passage. "No one will be forced to leave Gaza," it continued, referring to the previously feared forced resettlement of the Palestinian civilian population.

Agreement from Israel, what is Hamas doing?
In particular, the formulation that no one would have to leave the area is intended to reassure the Palestinian civilian population. The Israeli Prime Minister has already approved the plan. A Hamas representative said that the terrorist organization's negotiating team had told the mediators that they would review the peace plan "in good faith" and then give an answer. The Qatari prime minister and the Egyptian intelligence chief presented the 20-point plan to Hamas, he said.

Netanyahu regrets attack
Parallel to the peace efforts, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to Qatar for an attack on the Hamas leadership in the Gulf state. According to the Israeli broadcaster Channel 12, Netanyahu expressed his regret in a telephone conversation with Qatar's head of government Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani about the violation of Qatari sovereignty and the death of a Qatari security official during the operation.

According to the Israeli news website "ynet", the conversation took place during a meeting between Netanyahu and US President Trump in Washington. A spokesperson for Netanyahu initially declined to comment on the reports when asked. Israel carried out its first attack in the Gulf emirate around three weeks ago to target the Hamas leadership.

Qatar, an important US ally in the Gulf, is mediating the Gaza conflict together with Egypt and the USA. The government in Doha had strongly condemned Israel's action, and the US government also expressed criticism.