Donald Trump declared ‘potentially one of the great days ever in civilisation’ yesterday as he announced he would rule Gaza as part of his plan for ‘eternal peace in the Middle East’.
The US President pledged not only an ‘immediate end to the war’ in the Strip but ‘the whole deal’ to stop conflict that has ravaged the entire region for ‘thousands of years’.
And he said Sir Tony Blair would work alongside him on a board to oversee the process if Hamas accept his 20-point peace plan.
Mr Trump declared at a press conference at the White House it was a ‘big day, a beautiful day’ as he quashed rumours that the former British PM would oversee control of the territory.
He said a ‘board of peace’ would be ‘headed by a gentleman known as President Donald J Trump of the United States’, insisting this was ‘not at my request’ but said it’s ‘what I want’ as ‘it’s so important that I’m willing to do it’.
He said the board would have leaders from other countries, including Sir Tony, who he described as ‘a very good man’.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer backed President Trump, saying the peace plan was ‘profoundly welcome’ and called on Hamas to agree to the terms.
‘We strongly support his efforts to end the fighting, release the hostages and ensure the provision of urgent humanitarian assistance for the people of Gaza,’ the premier said. ‘This is our top priority and should happen immediately.’
‘We call on all sides to come together and to work with the US Administration to finalise this agreement and bring it into reality. Hamas should now agree to the plan and end the misery, by laying down their arms and releasing all remaining hostages.’
The plan, which the MAGA leader has circulated to Arab leaders, was released after Mr Trump met the Israeli PM in Washington.
The two leaders arrived at the press conference late, after discussing the terms of the deal, which has yet to be finalized with Netanyahu, Arab leaders, and Hamas.
‘Let’s call it eternal peace in the Middle East,’ Trump said triumphantly. ‘This is far more than anybody expected, but the level of support that I have had from the nations in the Middle East and neighbors of Israel has been incredible.’
Mr Trump said Netanyahu had given his backing to the peace deal, which calls for an immediate ceasefire, followed by disarmament of Hamas and Israeli withdrawal.
He heaped praise on Netanyahu standing beside him for ‘agreeing to the plan’ telling him: ‘This will be your crowning achievement.’
And he lauded a team involving his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, for their work on the Gaza peace deal as Mr Trump declared: ‘I don’t think anybody else could have done it or even come close.’
The American leader also labelled Netanyahu a ‘warrior’ and said that Israel was ‘lucky to have him’.
‘I understand and respect his position on many things, but what he’s doing today is so good for Israel,’ he adds.
‘I notice that, they have large crowds gathering in Israel all the time and they have my name up, they like me for whatever reason.’
After marshalling support across Arab and Muslim nations in recent days, before getting Mr Netanyahu onside, he said Hamas are ‘the only one left’ to accept.
The terror group will be given 72 hours to agree and release all 48 hostages – both the 20 living and the 28 bodies.
But if they do not, Mr Trump warned them ‘Israel would have the absolute right and actually our full backing… to finish the job of destroying the threat of Hamas.’
He said approval from all sides was ‘beyond very close’.
Netanyahu said ‘this can be done the easy way or it can be done the hard way, but it will be done’ as he vowed Israel would ‘finish the job by itself’ if Hamas rejected the deal.
‘We prefer the easy way. But it has to be done,’ he said.
‘All these goals must be achieved because we didn’t fight this horrible fight, sacrifice the finest of our young men to have Hamas stay in Gaza and threaten us again and again with these horrific massacres.’
Trump again promoted the Abraham Accords signed in his first term, but indicated he wanted to see more Middle Eastern nations involved in the deal.
‘Who knows, maybe even Iran could get in,’ Trump said, prompting Netanyahu to swivel and give Trump a skeptical look.
Netanyahu, who appeared to be visibly struggling with a cold, coughed after President Trump lightly proposed that he ‘take a question or two from a friendly Israli reporter.’
But Netanyahu declined, opting to wait until the deal was signed by all parties.
‘We’ll have enough time for questions, let’s settle the issue first,’ he said.
American officials stood up and applauded as the two leaders shook hands and ended the press conference.
The plan states that on agreement by both sides, ‘the war will immediately end’ with Israeli withdrawals timed to release of the last hostages held by Hamas. During that initial period, there would be a ceasefire.
Existing ‘battle lines’ would be frozen in place and Hamas would lay down its arms with the terror group’s offensive weaponry being destroyed.
While ‘full aid’ would be immediately sent to the Gaza Strip.
Key points include the deployment of a ‘temporary international stabilisation force’ and creation of a transitional authority headed by Trump.
The deal would demand Hamas militants fully disarm and be excluded from future roles in the government. However, those who agreed to ‘peaceful co-existence’ would be given amnesty.
Following Israeli withdrawal, the borders would be opened to aid and investment.
In a crucial change from Mr Trump’s earlier apparent goals, Palestinians will not be forced to leave and instead, the document said, ‘we will encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza.’
In concerning signs, senior Hamas official Muhammed Mardawi said the peace plan ‘leans toward the Israeli perspective’ and ‘is close to what Netanyahu insists on in order to continue the war’.
Hamas has yet to receive the peace plan. Palestinians have not been consulted, either, on the plans for a ‘Board of Peace’ to rule Gaza.
President Trump had promised ‘something special’ ahead of the crunch meeting with his old friend Mr Netanyahu at the White House.
The US President told reporters he was ‘very confident’ they could make a deal as the two leaders met on the steps in Washington DC.
Their demeanour was businesslike and once inside, a trilateral call with the Qatari PM was organised where Mr Netanyahu ‘expressed his deep regret’ for the strike on Hamas in Doha.
The apology was a key condition for Qatar resuming negotiations between the terror group and Israel and pointed to the pressure being applied to Mr Netanyahu in Washington.
Mr Netanyahu will now have to cajole his cabinet into agreeing the peace deal.
Sir Tony Blair’s £300million Gaza peace deal was revealed on Monday and showed his administration gets a ‘war room’, elite bodyguards and a police force to oversee the Strip.
The former PM’s proposal, obtained by the Mail, would mark his most significant intervention in the Middle East since sending British troops to war with Iraq.
Sir Tony has reportedly put himself forward to be chairman of the Gaza International Transitional Authority (GITA), a body proposed by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.
The administration would rule initially from nearby El-Arish in Egypt and have ‘policy hubs’ in Amman and Cairo, scaling up to be fully operational within the Strip by year three.
In his role, Sir Tony would lead Gaza’s international diplomacy on the world stage, co-ordinate security with Israel, Egypt and the US, and serve as ‘the escalation point’ on sensitive decisions.
Under the blueprint, GITA’s chairman commands a ‘Strategic Secretariat’ of 25 aides anchoring a crisis ‘war room’ for rapid analysis, co-ordination and messaging.
Security would be provided by a new Executive Protection Unit (EPU) tasked with ‘close protection’ for Sir Tony, fellow leaders and visiting VIPs.
Staffed by ‘elite personnel from Arab and international contributors’ it is trained for ‘rapid extraction’ and ‘incident response readiness’ and would escort foreign envoys.
The EPU must be ‘politically balanced to reflect neutrality, professionalism and legitimacy’.
It would work in conjunction with a Palestinian Civil Police force and an International Stabilisation Force (ISF), all co-ordinated through a Joint Security Coordination Centre (JSCC).
Police would be ‘nationally recruited’ and ‘professionally vetted’ and be tasked with maintaining public order, investigating crimes and protecting civilians within Gaza.
Meanwhile the ISF – a multinational force – would guard borders, stop weapons smuggling, deter militant resurgence with targeted counter terror raids, and protect reconstruction projects.
The US president had met key Arab leaders at the United Nations last week and said Sunday on social media that ‘ALL ARE ON BOARD FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL, FIRST TIME EVER.’
Netanyahu has recently given little reason for optimism, vowing in a defiant UN speech Friday to ‘finish the job’ against Hamas and rejecting Palestinian statehood – recently recognized by several Western nations.
Normally a staunch ally of Netanyahu, the US president has shown increasing signs of frustration ahead of the Israeli premier’s fourth White House visit since Trump’s return to power.
Trump was infuriated by Israel’s recent strike on Hamas members in key US ally Qatar.
And he warned Netanyahu last week against annexing the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as some of Netanyahu’s cabinet members have urged, a move that would seriously complicate the route to Palestinian statehood.
Netanyahu’s coalition government is propped up by the far-right ministers who oppose a peace deal.
