Listen: What the Gaza peace plan means for Palestinians, Israel, and Hamas

After a meeting at the white house Donald Trump and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu have presented what they’re calling a 20-point peace plan for Gaza.

They presented this as a historic breakthrough and the basics go like this: a ceasefire would begin immediately, Hamas would have 72 hours to release all the hostages it still holds, and Israel would free around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including women and children. But is this really the start of peace?

Production: By Europod, in co-production with Sphera Network.

EUobserver is proud to have an editorial partnership with Europod to co-publish the podcast series “Long Story Short” hosted by Evi Kiorri. The podcast is available on all major platforms.

You can find the transcript here if you prefer reading:

After a meeting at the White House, Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu have presented what they’re calling a 20-point peace plan for Gaza. They presented this as a historic breakthrough and the basics go like this: a ceasefire would begin immediately, Hamas would have 72 hours to release all the hostages it still holds, and Israel would free around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including women and children. But is this really the start of peace?

Now, Hamas, in exchange, would have to disarm completely, dismantle its tunnels and military infrastructure, and give up any role in governing Gaza. An international security force would move in, and aid would finally flow in large amounts, overseen by international bodies like the UN and the Red Cross, whose operations have been hindered by the Israeli bombings.

Gaza’s administration, for now, would be run by a temporary “Board of Peace,” headed, believe it or not, by Trump himself, alongside former UK prime minister Tony Blair. Down the line, if conditions are met, the Palestinian Authority might take over. And if it reforms properly, with a very big “if”, there could one day be a path to Palestinian statehood. One day.

But Netanyahu’s government has consistently opposed a Palestinian state, and Hamas wasn’t even consulted before this plan was announced. European leaders, though, rushed to applaud it. Emmanuel Macron, Giorgia Meloni, Roberta Metsola, Antonio Costa, Ursula von der Leyen, they all said Hamas must accept. Germany’s foreign minister even urged countries like Qatar and Egypt to lobby Hamas hard.

Now, on the surface, this looks like a peace plan, but looking closer it’s more like an ultimatum. Hamas has to surrender or face destruction, which of course they wouldn’t want or lose control over Gaza, remember they’re there catering to their own interests and not to those of Palestinian people.
For Israel, the gains are obvious: hostages return home, Hamas neutralised, and the Israeli army still holding a security perimeter around Gaza and holding control.

For Palestinians, the benefits are much more uncertain. Aid and reconstruction are promised and the plan insists there will be no expulsions from Gaza. But after almost two years of devastating war the promise of “maybe statehood, someday” is hardly reassuring. And a temporary administration run by a board chaired by Trump and Tony Blair doesn’t exactly scream Palestinian self-determination.

So where do things go from here? Hamas negotiators have said they’ll review the proposal “in good faith.” But the terroristic group has so far made it clear that it won’t disarm unless Israel ends the war and withdraws completely. Netanyahu, for his part, has promised that if Hamas refuses or accepts and then resists later, Israel will “finish the job”, meaning exactly what you understood. Which is not exactly the language of compromise.

The bigger question is whether this moment can be turned into a genuine negotiation, or whether it’s more political theatre designed to shift blame. If Hamas says no, Trump and Netanyahu will claim they offered peace and were rejected. If Hamas says yes, but conditions crumble, the cycle of war could start again under the cover of “we tried.”

And the people living in, or fleeing from, Gaza cannot afford another failed peace plan. In fact, many cannot even afford the price of leaving, while enduring Israeli bombings and the flattening of their city.