Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan takes one giant step forward for mankind

President Trump’s Peace Plan for Gaza has taken one giant step forward for mankind following Israel and Hamas signing a document headed: Implementation Steps for President Trump’s proposal for a “Comprehensive End of Gaza War” (See document below)

The heading confirms that the 6 listed agreed conditions are the first of many necessary to be implemented to bring Trump’s Plan to end the Israel-Gaza War to a successful conclusion.

Two particularly difficult steps to be implemented in Trump’s Plan require that:

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 neighbors.
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 neighbors or its people.

The road forward will undoubtedly encounter many road blocks that could result in Trump’s Plan being consigned to the dustbin of history and the Israel-Gaza war resuming.

Yet one can be optimistic that with Trump driving the bandwagon – an end to the Israel-Gaza War can be achieved.

However the conflict in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) still remains alive and needs to be resolved.

Trump has publicly declared he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank - but so far remains silent on his solution to end the conflict there.

Some clue to Trump’s thinking can be found in the statement issued by his then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on 19 November 2019:

“Turning now to Israel, the Trump administration is reversing the Obama administration’s approach towards Israeli settlements.

US public statements on settlement activities in the West Bank have been inconsistent over decades. In 1978, the Carter administration categorically concluded that Israel’s establishment of civilian settlements was inconsistent with international law. However, in 1981, President Reagan disagreed with that conclusion and stated that he didn’t believe that the settlements were inherently illegal.

Subsequent administrations recognized that unrestrained settlement activity could be an obstacle to peace, but they wisely and prudently recognized that dwelling on legal positions didn’t advance peace. However, in December 2016, at the very end of the previous administration, Secretary Kerry changed decades of this careful, bipartisan approach by publicly reaffirming the supposed illegality of settlements.

After carefully studying all sides of the legal debate, this administration agrees with President Reagan. The establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not per se inconsistent with international law.”

In fact - the establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) is legally authorised under articles 6 and 25 of the 1922 League of Nations Mandate for Palestine and article 80 of the 1945 United Nations Charter.

Whilst annexation of all of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) by Israel will not be permitted by Trump – annexation of the area within which the majority of Israeli settlements are located including the Jordan Valley appears most likely.

There is still a long and tortuous road to travel to end a territorial dispute that began between Jews and Arabs in 1897 but the light at the end of the tunnel is visible.