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The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) today welcomed US President Donald Trump’s new 20-point plan to end the Gaza conflict, accepted by Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu yesterday, calling it “very hopeful”.

AIJAC Executive Director Dr Colin Rubenstein noted that the main difference between this and previous plans is that this plan is about ending the war, not just pausing it – and it provides a pathway to do so even if Hamas doesn’t agree. Moreover, it has also garnered widespread acceptance by many Arab and Muslim countries as well as heavy investment by the US, including President Trump himself.

“The plan involves the immediate release of Israeli hostages within 72 hours, the disarming of Hamas, which will have no role in Gaza’s future governance, Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the introduction of regional Arab and international forces to act as peacekeepers and facilitate reconstruction. And even if Hamas refuses or creates delays, peacekeepers are to begin operating in those parts of Gaza controlled by Israeli forces even as the war continues to remove Hamas from the remaining 30% or so it still dominates.

“The plan thus constitutes a clear endgame to the war – one that fulfils Israel’s war aims of freeing the hostages, disarming Hamas and ensuring it has no future role in governing – while also providing a path to a much better future for Gazans.”

Dr Rubenstein added that “It’s important to note how this plan is rooted in much greater realism than the grandiose statements from Western leaders, including Australia, that didn’t advance peace one bit by naively recognising ‘Palestine’ based on unlikely promises of reforms from Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. This plan proposes incentives and benchmarks to actually push the Palestinian Authority (PA) to undertake the reforms essential to creating the conditions for a viable two-state peace in future. The PA is only to be given a governing  role once these reforms – including elections, ending incitement and the ‘pay-for-slay’ policy and tackling rampant corruption – are completed.

“If Hamas refuses this deal as it has with all previous deals, President Trump says Israel will have ‘full backing’ to ‘finish the job’, even as the structures for Gaza’s reconstruction and demilitarisation will start being put into place simultaneously. Overall, Israel’s acceptance of this new plan – a plan to end the war no matter what Hamas does – proves once again that Hamas is, and always has been, the obstacle to bringing this conflict to an end in a way that serves the interests of both Israelis and Palestinians,” Rubenstein concluded.