By ABC News Middle East correspondent Eric Tlozek
US President Donald Trump is pitching a peace plan for Gaza - it appears to be a new version of existing proposals to end the conflict.
Speaking at a press conference with the Israeli Prime Minister by his side, Trump said Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to back a US-sponsored Gaza peace proposal aimed at ending the nearly two-year-old war in the Palestinian enclave. The plan includes a ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas.
The plan was rewritten by key advisor Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner - the president's former Middle East envoy - to be more palatable to Netanyahu.
It echoes the February 2024 Biden plan and much of the French-Saudi plan endorsed at the United Nations earlier this month, prioritising an end to the war and the full release of Israeli hostages as soon as both Israel and Hamas accept the deal.
Where the plan considers Gaza's future, its key elements can be distilled to far fewer than its stated 20 points:
- 1. Gazans can stay in Gaza and those who left (or still want to leave) will be allowed to return.
- 2. The Palestinian Authority (PA) - the agency with limited government of a small part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank - will be the eventual governing body of the strip, if it meets required reforms.
- 3. Hamas will have to disarm and an amnesty will be granted to those members who accept "peaceful coexistence" with Israel.
- 4. Israeli troops will be replaced by an international stabilisation force, which will then be replaced by a new Palestinian police force.
- 5. There will be (eventually) a pathway to an independent Palestinian state.
Several key elements of this plan directly contradict Israel's stated aims and "red lines".
- 1. Israel says Hamas must be destroyed (not granted amnesty and/or safe passage out of the strip)
- 2. Israel says the Palestinian Authority can have no role in Gaza
- 3. Israel says it must retain "security control" of Gaza, not an international force
- 4. Israel says there will never be a Palestinian state west of the Jordan River (ie, in the land once known as Palestine)
That said, Israel's prime minister could simply agree to the plan and then say key elements are not being met to Israel's satisfaction, giving a pretext for prolonged Israeli presence in Gaza and the delay of steps towards a Palestinian state.
The likely ones Israel would use are Hamas disarmament (the group has not agreed to disarm, even if it accepts a ceasefire) and PA reform.
The plan also has some strange elements, notably the proposed return of former British prime minister Tony Blair to the Middle East as coordinator of the "Board of Peace", Trump's name for the transitional authority in charge of funding and managing the recovery.
Blair had a leading role in "the Quartet" (the UN, EU, US and Russia), a group established in 2002 to steer the peace process, but which instead became another item on the long list of failed international initiatives to resolve the conflict.
He is broadly hated around the Middle East for his role in pushing the Western invasion of Iraq.
The Palestinian Authority rated Blair's - and the Quartet's - performance as "useless, useless, useless" back in 2012, saying he should "pack up his desk … and go home".
That said, there are many positive elements in the plan that will be welcomed by Palestinians, not least the acknowledgement that they will not be forced out of the territory, or can return if they leave.
The deployment of an international force in Gaza could also bring the chance Palestinians need to break free of Hamas.
The group retains significant influence, not least because Israel's conduct of the war - killing tens of thousands of civilians, blocking the entry of food and destroying their homes and infrastructure - has ensured its forces are the biggest threat to Palestinian civilians.
"They [the Israelis] tend to overlook that their own approach to the war failed the fundamental test of dealing with a guerilla conflict: to protect the population," former ambassador and peace negotiator Dennis Ross wrote in the Washington Post.
"Hamas retains the power to intimidate the population because the IDF's mission has not been to protect them."
Hamas already accepted a US ceasefire proposal in August - but Israel then demanded the group release all the hostages at once and bombed the Hamas negotiators when they met to discuss the amended offer in Doha in early September.
The group has indicated it wants to sign a deal, but its key requirements haven't really changed since it first agreed to a ceasefire in July 2024 - it demands Israel withdraw from most of Gaza and agree to end the war.
The Trump plan contains elements that run counter to the goals of both Hamas (survival and continued armed struggle from within the Palestinian territories) and Israel (control of Gaza, destruction of Hamas, prevention of the Palestinian Authority taking over, prevention of a Palestinian state), but it delivers many things the rest of the world wants.
Israel has outwardly agreed to the plan, while Hamas will face intense pressure from Qatar and Egypt to accept it.
The test will be whether both sides allow it to be implemented.
The full 20 points
1. Gaza will be a deradicalised terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbours.
2. Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who have suffered more than enough.
3. If both sides agree to this proposal, the war will immediately end. Israeli forces will withdraw to the agreed upon line to prepare for a hostage release. During this time, all military operations, including aerial and artillery bombardment, will be suspended, and battle lines will remain frozen until conditions are met for the complete staged withdrawal.
4. Within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned.
5. Once all hostages are released, Israel will release 250 life sentence prisoners plus 1700 Gazans who were detained after October 7th 2023, including all women and children detained in that context. For every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel will release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans.
6. Once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries.
7. Upon acceptance of this agreement, full aid will be immediately sent into the Gaza Strip. At a minimum, aid quantities will be consistent with what was included in the January 19, 2025, agreement regarding humanitarian aid, including rehabilitation of infrastructure (water, electricity, sewage), rehabilitation of hospitals and bakeries, and entry of necessary equipment to remove rubble and open roads.
8. Entry of distribution and aid in the Gaza Strip will proceed without interference from the two parties through the United Nations and its agencies, and the Red Crescent, in addition to other international institutions not associated in any manner with either party. Opening the Rafah crossing in both directions will be subject to the same mechanism implemented under the January 19, 2025 agreement.
9. Gaza will be governed under the temporary transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for delivering the day-to-day running of public services and municipalities for the people in Gaza. This committee will be made up of qualified Palestinians and international experts, with oversight and supervision by a new international transitional body, the "Board of Peace," which will be headed and chaired by President Donald J. Trump, with other members and heads of State to be announced, including Former Prime Minister Tony Blair. This body will set the framework and handle the funding for the redevelopment of Gaza until such time as the Palestinian Authority has completed its reform program, as outlined in various proposals, including President Trump's peace plan in 2020 and the Saudi-French proposal, and can securely and effectively take back control of Gaza. This body will call on best international standards to create modern and efficient governance that serves the people of Gaza and is conducive to attracting investment.
10. A Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energize Gaza will be created by convening a panel of experts who have helped birth some of the thriving modern miracle cities in the Middle East. Many thoughtful investment proposals and exciting development ideas have been crafted by well-meaning international groups, and will be considered to synthesize the security and governance frameworks to attract and facilitate these investments that will create jobs, opportunity, and hope for future Gaza.
Trump said he hoped Hamas militants would accept the plan. Photo: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS
11. A special economic zone will be established with preferred tariff and access rates to be negotiated with participating countries.
12. No one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return. We will encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza.
13. Hamas and other factions agree to not have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly, indirectly, or in any form. All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt. There will be a process of demilitarization of Gaza under the supervision of independent monitors, which will include placing weapons permanently beyond use through an agreed process of decommissioning, and supported by an internationally funded buy back and reintegration program all verified by the independent monitors. New Gaza will be fully committed to building a prosperous economy and to peaceful coexistence with their neighbours.
14. A guarantee will be provided by regional partners to ensure that Hamas, and the factions, comply with their obligations and that New Gaza poses no threat to its neighbours or its people.
15. The United States will work with Arab and international partners to develop a temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF) to immediately deploy in Gaza. The ISF will train and provide support to vetted Palestinian police forces in Gaza, and will consult with Jordan and Egypt who have extensive experience in this field. This force will be the long-term internal security solution. The ISF will work with Israel and Egypt to help secure border areas, along with newly trained Palestinian police forces. It is critical to prevent munitions from entering Gaza and to facilitate the rapid and secure flow of goods to rebuild and revitalize Gaza. A deconfliction mechanism will be agreed upon by the parties.
16. Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza. As the ISF establishes control and stability, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will withdraw based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarization that will be agreed upon between the IDF, ISF, the guarantors, and the Unites States, with the objective of a secure Gaza that no longer poses a threat to Israel, Egypt, or its citizens. Practically, the IDF will progressively hand over the Gaza territory it occupies to the ISF according to an agreement they will make with the transitional authority until they are withdrawn completely from Gaza, save for a security perimeter presence that will remain until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat.
17. In the event Hamas delays or rejects this proposal, the above, including the scaled-up aid operation, will proceed in the terror-free areas handed over from the IDF to the ISF.
18. An interfaith dialogue process will be established based on the values of tolerance and peaceful co-existence to try and change mindsets and narratives of Palestinians and Israelis by emphasizing the benefits that can be derived from peace.
19. While Gaza re-development advances and when the PA reform program is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognize as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.
20. The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous co-existence.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 29, 2025
- ABC News
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