The plans include an administration made up of Palestinian technocrats, complete demilitarization and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. The terrorist organization Hamas is called upon to immediately hand over the last hostage killed. Otherwise there would be serious consequences, said Witkoff.
Trump presented his 20-point plan at the beginning of October, two years after the Hamas attack in Israel and the start of the Gaza war. An International Stabilization Force (ISF) was actually planned, but Witkoff did not provide any information about this. He also didn’t go into details. Later it was said from the USA that details about the ISF would be given in the next two weeks.
Lots of open questions
The formation of a planned international “Peace Council” that would oversee the interim government under Trump’s leadership is just as open. The composition of this “Peace Council” also still needs to be clarified. This should then also set up the “stabilization force”. On Wednesday, US officials said that Trump would personally select the members of this council.
In the second phase, the Israeli army will also withdraw from most of the Gaza Strip and gradually hand over previously held areas to the ISF. The negotiations are likely to be even more difficult than the first phase due to strong differences between the warring parties.
Transitional government is in place
The members of the interim government made up of Palestinian technocrats were previously announced. The committee is supposed to temporarily manage the extensively destroyed Gaza Strip. This body should “immediately take over all tasks and all responsibilities in the Gaza Strip to manage daily life and basic services,” participants of the meeting in Cairo said, according to al-Kahira News.
According to Palestinian media, the interim government consists of 14 members, with the head of the committee, Ali Shaath, temporarily holding a second post. According to Palestinian observers, all 14, including one woman, have no ties to Hamas, as provided for in the Gaza plan.
Schaath, in turn, was formerly deputy transport minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which administers parts of the West Bank. In the past, Israel has vehemently opposed the PA playing a role in the Gaza Strip in the future.
Fragile ceasefire after the first phase
In the first phase of the Trump plan, the living hostages held by Hamas and almost all of those killed were brought to Israel. In return, Israeli troops withdrew from parts of the Gaza Strip. With the fragile ceasefire, the situation in the Gaza Strip improved somewhat, but remained precarious. According to the UN Emergency Relief Office (OCHA), more than 80 percent of the buildings were destroyed or damaged. Many people still live in poor tent camps.
Many questions arise about the further implementation of the next steps. Hamas had previously strictly refused to lay down its weapons. In the area it controls, it has been able to maintain its hold on power, not least because of its brutal crackdown on internal opponents, even if it is weakened. Hamas members who commit to peaceful coexistence with Israel and to laying down their weapons should receive amnesty.
The Gaza war was triggered by the unprecedented massacre by Hamas and other extremist organizations on October 7, 2023. At that time, the terrorists killed around 1,200 people in Israel and abducted more than 250 others to the Gaza Strip. Israel then said it attacked Hamas targets in the coastal area. In two devastating years of war, more than 71,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip, including scores of women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority.
