Hamas Denies Receiving Trump’s Plan as Netanyahu Gears for White House Meeting
The Palestinian movement Hamas has denied receiving US President Donald Trump’s plan for peace in Gaza, reported Reuters.
The remarks came after Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Hamas had agreed in principle to Trump’s plan.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is due to meet with Trump at the White House on Monday to discuss the details of the plan.
No Proposals Received
A Hamas official dismissed Haaretz report, saying that the Palestinian group has not received Trump’s plan. “Hamas has not been presented with any plan,” he told Reuters.
Similarly, a senior Hamas official confirmed to CNN that the movement had not received any new proposals for ceasefire in Gaza.
The comments were in response to the Israeli newspaper’s report which stated that Hamas had agreed in principle to release the remaining hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave.
Trump’s Upbeat Tone
The US President has voiced optimism regarding his 21-point peace plan, which he presented to key Arab and Muslim leaders during a multilateral meeting in New York on Tuesday.
Trump on Friday said he had “very inspired and productive discussions” with Middle Eastern leaders, adding that “intense negotiations” would continue until reaching a “Successfully Completed Agreement.”
He noted that Hamas and Israel were aware of the talks, in which all regional countries were involved. “We must get the Hostages back, and get a PERMANENT AND LONGLASTING PEACE!” he wrote on Truth Social.
Plan Details
Trump’s peace plan centers on several main points, including the release of all the remaining hostages; a permanent ceasefire; and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. It does not involve any forced displacement of Palestinians.
According to the Times of Israel, the plan paves the way for a future Palestinian state, after the completion of Palestinian Authority (PA) reform. It also stipulates the exclusion of Hamas from governance, in addition to the group’s disarmament and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.
Moreover, the plan suggests that former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, runs a post-war transitional authority in Gaza, called the Gaza International Transitional Authority (Gita), for five years.
Trump-Netanyahu Meeting
Trump will host Netanyahu at the White House on Monday to discuss the peace plan in detail, amid mounting pressure to end the war in Gaza and release the remaining hostages.
According to Israel’s public broadcaster Kan 11, Trump’s Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, held discussions with the Israeli Prime Minister in New York, telling him that “the time has come to end the war.”
Most recently, Trump expressed strong opposition to Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank. “I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. Nope. I won’t allow it. It’s not going to happen,” he said on Thursday.
Internal Opposition
Members of Netanyahu’s far-right coalition have threatened to collapse the government if the war in Gaza ended before eliminating Hamas.
In the light of this, the Israeli National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, lashed out at Netanyahu, saying that he had “no a mandate to end the war without the complete defeat of Hamas.”
Similarly, Israel’s Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, said that his party “will never agree to a Palestinian state.”
In response, the Israeli opposition leader, Yair Lapid, assured US officials that he would provide Netanyahu with a political “safety net” to finalize a hostage deal and end the war. “There’s no need to be alarmed by the empty threats of Ben Gvir and Smotrich,” he wrote on X.
