As it happened: Trump announces 'historic' peace deal for Israel's war on Gaza
میدل-ایست-آی - 1404-07-08 01:27:21
As it happened: Trump announces 'historic' peace deal for Israel's war on Gaza
US President Donald Trump announced that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted a proposal to end Israel's war on Gaza on Monday. Trump said the deal is still to be accepted by Hamas.
In a press briefing with the two leaders at the White House that began more than an hour late, Trump said: "We're at a minimum, very, very close. And I think we're beyond, very close" to securing the proposed ceasefire deal for Gaza, calling it "one of the greatest days in civilization".
Much of Trump's speech was peppered with his assertions that the achievement was a "historic first" and that allies had commended his administration's ability to reach a Middle East "peace" deal.
The US president added that there had been "extensive consultation with friends and partners across the region" and that the plan had the support of Arab and Muslim leaders and European allies.
He hailed it as a "new chapter of security, peace and prosperity for the entire region", and heaped praise on the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan and Egypt, whom he had met with last week at the United Nations General Assembly.
He said in many cases there had been "great men" helping and "some great women too, but they tend to be mostly men however".
If accepted by Hamas, Trump said the proposal called for the release of living Israeli captives within 72 hours, as well as the bodies of captives who had died, and the immediate end to the war itself.
He said that "Arab and Muslim" leaders had committed to "demilitarise Gaza" and "decommission" the military capabilities of Hamas.
Trump then said he had heard Hamas wanted the deal too, and that it would result in the destruction of "terror infrastructure" including "tunnels" and "production facilities".
Trump added that a new transitional authority would agree on timelines for Israel to withdraw and that Israel would be withdrawing in phases.
Trump then thanked his son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff and commented that "no one else could have come close", and that it was the first time in "thousands of years" such a feat had been achieved.
Threat
Trump then added that if Hamas chose to reject the 20-point proposal, which was released shortly before the press conference, then "Bibi", referring to Netanyahu, would "have our full backing to do what you have to do".
Qatar and Egypt announced shortly after that they had delivered the proposal to Hamas.
Trump said his plan called for an international oversight body to ensure the success of the plan, which he said would be called the Board of Peace, a name he went on to say was "beautiful" and would be headed by himself as chairman.
He announced that former British prime minister Tony Blair would be on the board along with several others, who would be revealed over the next few days.
Trump then proceeded to announce that Israelis seem to really "like me". They say two things, he said: "Please get the hostages back and please end the war. They've had it."
He praised Netanyahu as being a warrior. "Israel is lucky to have him," he added.
"There are many Palestinians who wish to live in peace. Many, many, many. I've seen so many of them. They have support. I challenge Palestinians to take control of their destiny."
"We're giving them responsibility for their destiny", he said, but they must "prohibit terrorism and earn their way to a brighter future".
"They've had a rough life with Hamas," Trump added. "If the Palestinian Authority does not complete the reforms that I laid out in my vision for peace in 2020, they'll have only themselves to blame. We're giving them an amazing footprint."
He did not state what the "footprint" was. His focus was primarily on returning the captives.
Trump called for Hamas to accept the deal, saying: "It's a different Hamas we're dealing with, as 20,000 people have been killed. Their leadership has been killed three times over."
'Greatest friend Israel has ever had'
Netanyahu then took the stage, and announced he agreed to the peace deal and "supported" Trump's plans to end the war in Gaza. But he also took a further step – in a disconnect with Trump – and indicated that he and Trump were working on a longterm strategy to change the face of the Middle East, rather than working with Arab and Muslim leaders on Gaza only.
Netanyahu began by thanking and praising Trump, something that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy famously failed to do on his first visit to the White House when Trump had tried to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Netanyahu called Trump the "greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House" and said that the competition wasn't "even close".
He then went on to say that Trump's leadership was "changing the world for the better. Ending wars and advancing peace".
"When our nations stand shoulder to shoulder, we achieve the impossible," the Israeli prime minister said referencing the US's "bold decision" to help Israel in its 12-day war on Iran in June, saying it "made the region safer, and the world safer".
He said that Israel would now take steps to "win the war and expand the peace" under Trump's leadership.
He said Hamas would be disarmed, and that Gaza would have a civilian administration that would be run by neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Netanyahu's plans go against European recognition of a Palestinian state where the PA would be the governing authority.
Netanyahu praised Trump for overseeing the body, despite his busy schedule, and added: "If Hamas rejects your plan, Mr President, or if they supposedly accept and then basically do everything to counter it, then Israel will finish the job by itself."
"This can be done the easy way or the hard way," Netanyahu said. "We prefer the easy way. But it has to be done."
He rejected the recognition of a Palestinian state and said "it would endanger Israel's very existence".
"Under your leadership, we can re-energise the Abraham Accords" and expand them to more Arab and Muslim nations, he added.
He ended with declaring that "Israel and America can change the face of the Middle East", and took a completely different direction from the one Trump had.
Netanyahu travelled to the White House to meet with Trump to discuss a ceasefire in Gaza following his appearance at the United Nations General Assembly on Friday.
The meeting is the fourth between the two leaders since Trump returned to the White House at the end of January.
