Netanyahu accepts Trump proposal to end war in Gaza

US President Donald Trump said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to end the war in Gaza, in a move he said would be the Israeli leader's "crowning achievement". 

"It means the immediate end to the war itself," Trump said speaking alongside Netanyahu at the White House. 

"I support your plan to end the war in Gaza which achieves our war aims. It will bring back to Israel all our hostages, dismantle Hamas's military capabilities, end its political rule and ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel," Netanyahu said. 

Trump said that he expects a "positive" response from Hamas, but shortly after the press conference, Reuters quoted a Hamas official as saying that the group had not received a "written Gaza peace plan" as yet. 

"I'm hearing that Hamas wants to get this done too," Trump said. 

The White House released a 20-point statement outlining its plan for post-war Gaza minutes before Netanyahu and Trump appeared at their press conference.

Trump said his plan has the support of "Arab and Muslim" leaders, who he said have committed to "demilitarise Gaza" and "decommission" the military capabilities of Hamas.

“Everybody wants to be a part of it… everybody wants it to work," Trump said. "These are very rich countries that can make things happen."

Trump said he spoke with the leaders of Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt and Indonesia, along with Gulf leaders who all back the plan according to the president.

Board of Peace

Netanyahu responded to the announcement by stressing that the plan was in keeping with his government's conditions to end the war. He said Israel would retain "a security perimeter" around Gaza and withdraw from the enclave in stages depending on the extent of Hamas's "demilitarisation" - but that differs from the plan on paper.

Throughout his speech, Trump leaned heavily on the support Arab and Muslim countries were giving to his plan. The White House statement says Jordan and Egypt will train Palestinian security forces to police Gaza.  

The plan calls for all captives in Gaza to be released within 72 hours and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. 

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Although it says Israel will not annex or occupy Gaza, the plan is opaque on who will ultimately control the enclave. 

"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," the White House said.

A "Board of Peace" chaired by Trump, which will include former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, will have "oversight and supervision" of the Palestinian committee.

The plan says the Palestinian Authority will eventually take over Gaza once it has "completed its reform programme".

Netanyahu praised Trump for offering to manage the enclave as "Chairman of the Board", saying: "The fact that you are taking this on helps a lot."

He said that a "peaceful civilian administation" would run Gaza, and that it would not include "Hamas or the Palestinian Authority".

Netanyahu left space for the PA, which exercises limited governence in the occupied West Bank, to return to Gaza. 

"The PA can have no role in Gaza without undergoing a 'radical transformation'," he said. 

Trump said the plan would open the way to expand the Abraham Accords, the normalisation agreements Israel signed with the UAE, Morocco and Bahrain in 2020, which Trump considers his hallmark foreign policy achievement.