Hamas faces pressure to accept Trump’s ceasefire proposal

JERUSALEM (AP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have finally beaten Hamas.

After facing several months of genocide accusations, Paria’s status And Netanyahu, global pressure to stop the war in Gaza Ceasefire plan With US President Donald Trump.

20 points Planannounced by Trump and Netanyahu in the White House, and has a great support for Israel.

Hamas says he is still studying the plans and will respond quickly. However, Islamic extremist groups could struggle to reject the proposal as Trump has gained international support from Hamas’ closest allies.

“Instead of Hamas sequestering us, we turned the table and isolated Hamas,” Netanyahu boasted on a social media video before leaving Washington.

Let’s take a closer look:

Netanyahu’s vision of “complete victory”

Netanyahu has promised to advance to “a perfect victory” through almost two years of war. Hamas held and promised not only to defeat the group on the battlefield, but to drive it out of power and destroy military capabilities.

Given Hamas’s deep roots in Palestinian society, critics describing this vision as unrealistic. But Trump’s plans primarily examine this goal.

Hamas must release all living and dead hostages within days of the plan being implemented. It forces them to disarm and take over the power of a group of non-political engineers, overseen by an international organisation led by Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Israel maintains a free military presence within Gaza along its border with Israel. International troops, composed primarily of troops from Arab and Muslim countries, are responsible for their security within Gaza. The US will lead a massive internationally funded reconstruction effort in Gaza.

The plan envisages its ultimate role in Palestinian authority. Netanyahu opposes it. However, authorities managing parts of the West Bank must undergo a drastic reform programme that could take years to implement.

Trump’s plan is even more vague about future Palestinian states – another Non-starter With Netanyahu. It refers to a “reliable route” for solutions in two states, but the language is unknown and there is no timeline. Netanyahu leaves the door open to delay or ignore the issue.

In his social media video, Netanyahu claimed he had disagreed with the Palestinian state. “It’s dangerous to Israel, and of course we don’t agree with it,” he said.

So what’s in there for Hamas?

Hamas, which caused the war on October 7, 2023, can claim some victory under the plan.

Most importantly, Israel requires Israel to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including around 250 people who have been serving life sentences for convictions in fatal attacks on Israelis. Such releases are painful and unpopular for the Israeli people.

But the Palestinians see prisoners Heroes and victims The Palestinian people will be seen as a massive achievement in the struggle against Israeli occupation.

Hamas can also argue that Netanyahu forced him to acknowledge the aspirations of the Palestinian state, even if the language of the plan is vague.

Israel also made other concessions. Trump and Israel have abandoned plans to drive two million Palestinians in Gaza out of their territory. The new proposal allows all Palestinians to stay, and anyone who decides to leave will be allowed to return.

Israel has also pledged to not annex or resettle Gaza, a dream favorite of Netanyahu’s ultranationalist coalition allies. It comes after Netanyahu appears to have dropped his threat to annex the West Bank under the pressure of us and Arabs.

The Trump plan does not mention the West Bank. Arab officials spoke on condition of anonymity discussing the closed door negotiations, saying that such language had been removed at Israeli request.

An offer that cannot be refused

Despite that small profit, Hamas appears to have appeared as a major loser under the Trump plan. But it may not be possible to reject the offer. Trump told White House reporters Tuesday that Hamas has “three or four days” to respond to the proposal.

After two years of war, Hamas suffered Big loss And it only acts as a small fraction of the power it once held. It is difficult to assess its popularity in Gaza, but it is clear that many on the devastated territory want to end the war at any cost.

Moreover, the region’s major allies, Hezbollah, a militant group based in Iran and Lebanon, has been significantly weakened by Israeli and American attacks.

The Arab states of support for the proposal could also bring Hamas back to the corner.

A joint statement by Arab and Muslim countries welcomed the proposal and expressed its readiness to work towards finalizing it and implementing it. They included Turkey, Egypt and Qatar, and had cooperative ties with Hamas, as well as other influential countries such as Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Still, the text of the proposal released by the White House on Monday raised reservations among several Arab countries, Arab officials told The Associated Press.

They said the text has changed from what he previously discussed with Trump, making it more advantageous for Israel. They pointed to the ambiguous conditions regarding the withdrawal of Israeli forces, the lack of a time frame for allowing Palestinian authority to rule Gaza, and the lack of a clear path to the state.

Officials said their country is in contact with US officials about the change. They spoke on condition of anonymity and discussed behind the scenes talk.

This may allow Hamas to negotiate a more favorable change in the proposal.

However, as wars weakened and increasingly isolated in the region, they may have no choice but to follow the plan.

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Associated Press Correspondent Samy Magdy contributed a report from Cairo.