Trump’s latest Gaza plan leaves way for Hamas to return, Israeli general and economist warn

Two Israeli experts, one a former general and the other an economist, criticized the U.S. plan to end the war in Gaza, after its details were revealed over the past weekend, before the White House published its full contents on Monday.

Israel's former commander of the Navy, Maj. Gen. (res.) Eliezer (Cheney) Marom, criticized the plan to end the Gaza War that was put forward by U.S. President Donald Trump and special envoy Steve Witkoff, calling it a “return to 2005.” 

“This whole plan is a return to 2005,” Marom told 103FM Radio on Sunday, as he appraised the plan whose details were leaked over the weekend. “We will have a Strip ruled by technocrats. It is a disguise for the so-called Palestinian Authority.” 

“Trump is rebuilding a construction in which the Palestinian Authority returns to control the Strip,” he repeated. 

Marom's comments came before Trump announced the full details of the plan on Monday evening.

The Palestinian Authority was in control of the Gaza Strip in 2005, following the Disengagement Plan of then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. 

Marom explained that "Hamas retreats as if it has taken a step back, and after a few months Hamas will shoot them in the knees and throw them off the tallest buildings left in Gaza,” describing the things Hamas did to Palestinian Authority leaders and security officers in Gaza when it seized control in 2007.

“I don't think they are changing significantly.” 

“They will want revenge,” Marom continued. “We are returning to Hamas ruling the Strip because Hamas, it will not be possible to disarm it. Nothing changes here.” 

Hamas has stated several times that it views handing over or destroying its weapons as a red line. Hamas senior official Ghazi Hammad even said that Hamas’ weapons are what brought about the spate of Western countries recognizing a Palestinian state. 

However, Maj. Gen. Marom said that if the deal leads to the release of the hostages, he thinks it is worth taking the risk. 

“If we manage to release the hostages, it is a great achievement, and I would sign it with my eyes closed,” he stated. 

Marom cautioned against believing the current operation in Gaza City will lead to the surrender of Hamas. 

“With the method we are working with now, we will not be able to reach a different result in the Gaza Strip,” he opined. “There is no such thing as a surrender of Hamas, Hamas will not wave a white flag.” 

“This plan also does not include the expulsion of Hamas members at all,” the former Navy commander said, although the version of the plan shared by The Times of Israel does appear to call for exile of Hamas leadership. 

“From what I understand, Trump's plan states that no one is being forced to leave the Gaza Strip,” he explained. “If we can get the hostages back, let's get the hostages back.” 

Marom’s assessment was shared by Eyal Omer, an expert on Hamas’ economy, who stated that the terror group is operating based on long-term goals. 

"Hamas has said it clearly,” Omer said in an interview with 103FM on Sunday. “It understands that formally, it will not remain in power in Gaza. In the short term, Hamas will agree to expert committees. They will say, 'We will not act against the Arab forces that will enter,' but Hamas always thinks in the long term.” 

Omer admitted that Israel’s efforts against Hamas have led to significant declines for the group. 

“Hamas's rule has been disintegrating for nearly half a year,” Omer stated. “We are eliminating all the people in the civilian backbone, finance people, policemen.” 

However, Omer cautioned that Hamas still has many fighters left. 

“They have an order of magnitude of more than 10,000 fighters,” he assessed. “In some places, there are those who say 20,000.” 

Omer said that Hamas is likely trying to smuggle fighters out of Gaza City to prepare for future fighting. 

“There are unverified reports that they are now transferring a lot of their people, bearing arms, to al-Mawasi and Deir al-Balah,” he shared. 

He also claimed that Hamas would attempt to take back the Gaza Strip within a few years. 

“They actually plan to take over within five to ten years," Omer stated. “All the talk about Hamas disappearing is disconnected from reality.” 

As the IDF has been surrounding the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, the military is considering implementing checkpoints along the evacuation route to prevent Hamas fighters from attempting to flee south.