Trump, Netanyahu Agree on Gaza Peace Plan

President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday they've agreed to a plan to end the war in Gaza, but it's unclear whether Hamas will accept the terms.

• Trump laid out a 20-point plan on Monday for ending the Israel-Hamas war and establishing a postwar governance in the war-battered Palestinian territory. Trump's plan states that Gaza would be governed by a committee made up of "qualified Palestinians and international experts, with oversight and supervision by a new international transitional body." The "Board of Peace" would be headed by Trump, "with other members and heads of State to be announced," including Tony Blair. The full text of the plan can be seen here.

• The plan does not require people to leave Gaza and calls for the war to end immediately if both sides accept it, the AP reports. It also calls for all remaining hostages to be released within 72 hours of Israel accepting the plan.
• "Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza," the plan states. It says the US will work with Arab nations and other partners to create an International Stabilization Force. The plan says as the ISF "establishes control and stability" in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces "will withdraw based on standards, milestones, and time frames linked to demilitarization that will be agreed upon between the IDF, ISF. the guarantors, and the United States."
• The proposal states that after hostages are freed, "Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty," CNBC reports. "Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries."
• Trump said Israel would have the "full backing" of the United States to take steps to defeat Hamas if it doesn't accept the proposed peace deal. "I think we are beyond very close," Trump said at the start of a news conference with Netanyahu where he detailed the plan. "We're not quite finished. We have to get Hamas." Netanyahu said, "If Hamas rejects your plan, Mr. President, or if they supposedly accept it and then do everything to counter it, then Israel will finish the job by itself. This can be done the easy way or it can be done the hard way, but it will be done."

• The plan states that a panel of experts will create a "Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energize Gaza." It says the "new" Gaza "will be fully committed to building a prosperous economy and to peaceful coexistence with their neighbors."
• The New York Times notes that the plan "seems to tread delicately" around some of the more contentious subjects, remaining vague on issues including Palestinian statehood and the role of the Palestinian Authority. It states that after PA reforms are carried out, "the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood."
• Trump and Netanyahu did not take questions at the news conference. That could be a "reflection of the fact that many specifics still need to be figured out before answering queries about what is an extremely complicated plan where many things could potentially go wrong," notes Bernd Debusmann Jr. at the BBC. Earlier Monday, Netahyahu called Qatar from the White House to apologize for the Israeli airstrike on the country earlier this month.
• A Hamas official said the group was briefed on the plan but has yet to receive an official offer from Egyptian and Qatari mediators. The group has repeatedly rejected laying down arms and has linked its weapons to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.