3 October 2025
The Trump peace plan cannot end Islamist jihad
The peace plan announced by US President Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu on 29th September is the closest thing to a realistic peace plan we have seen in the last two years. It ushers a breath hope in the midst of despondency. It is a masterful piece of diplomatic craftsmanship. But everything depends on whether Hamas is willing to concede defeat. That is unlikely.
On its face, the proposal looks like a win-win for both Israel and the Palestinians. All Israeli hostages will be released. Gaza will be deradicalized. Hamas will have no role in Gaza’s future governance and will be disarmed. Israel will gradually withdraw from all of Gaza (except a buffer zone), and regional Arab and international forces will act as peacekeepers to ensure reform of the Palestinian Authority and facilitate reconstruction of Gaza.
The plan is supported by a wide group of regional and international nations, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan – even Pakistan and Turkey. In this way, Iran and Russia are being isolated.
Hamas has been cornered. If it agrees, the war “will immediately end”. Hamas will lay down its arms and commit to deradicalisation and peaceful co-existence. But if Hamas refuses to agree or does not release all hostages, Israel will retain the full right to continue its current military campaign, the aim of which is to dismantle Hamas and ensure the release of the hostages. Either way, international peacekeepers are to begin operating in those parts of Gaza currently controlled by Israeli forces even as the war continues to remove Hamas from the remaining 30% it still dominates.
In order to create a “New Gaza”, a technocratic government will be set up under leadership of President Trump and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. An economic plan will be created to redevelop Gaza. Independent monitors will oversee the demilitarization of Gaza. An International Stabilization Force (ISF) will train and provide support to vetted Palestinian police forces in consultation with Jordan and Egypt. But while the plan looks good on paper, in the Middle East not all is as it seems.
Will this plan bring peace? Even if Hamas accepts, the war will of course not come to an end. It will be a ceasefire at best. That is because Israel is not fighting a war against Hamas, but against a death-cult ideology financed by hostile Islamic states like Iran and Qatar that has spread like a cancer around the globe. Organizations adhering to this death cult operate not only in Gaza but also the Arab parts of Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria (the “West Bank”), Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, as well as Iraq, Iran and Turkey. This Islamist jihad ideology does not think in terms of conventional warfare. It never accepts defeat. It is willing to sacrifice its own children for the greater goal of defeating the infidels.
It remains to be seen whether Hamas will agree to this deal. The indications are that they will demand amendments. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Thursday: “There are a lot of holes that need to be filled. We need more discussions on how to implement it, especially on two important issues — governance and security arrangements. We are supportive of the Trump plan and the vision to end war and need to move forward.” Abdelatty said that Qatar, Egypt and Turkey are working to convince Hamas to accept the plan, warning that the conflict will escalate if the Palestinian terrorist group refuses.
As military analyst Andrew Fox has observed, this plan could provide Israel with a tactical win, but does not guarantee a political-strategic victory: "This deal is a temporary measure, not a comprehensive peace agreement. It ensures a pause in fighting and an opportunity to rebuild, but it does not resolve whether Gaza will be genuinely stable or who will ultimately govern it in the long run."
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