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24 months after the Hamas attacks of October 7th, 2023, where some 1,200 Israeli citizens lost their lives, and amid a genocide in Gaza where over more than sixty-seven thousand Palestinian casualties, the demand for a resolution has reached a peak. Palestinians are in dire need for an end to hunger and airstrikes. Israelis desire the hostilities to conclude for the sake of remaining hostages and military personnel. Conflict has spread across the region. Momentum has been growing around Donald Trump's proposal, with both Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas grudgingly indicating acceptance under American pressure.

Frail Hopes and Major Rejections

With indirect talks between Israel and Hamas beginning in Egypt on the start of the week, there are frail hopes of a breakthrough at last. However, both parties have made it evident that they oppose major parts of the 20-point US plan, which starts with an immediate ceasefire, the release of all captives – followed by the release of detainees – and the resumption of full aid.

For Netanyahu, ongoing conflict in Gaza and beyond extends his time in power. His allies in government aim to remove the Palestinian population and settle Gaza. The militant organization has little interest to sign itself out of existence, and handing back the remaining captives would eliminate any bargaining power it still holds. It has seen much of its command structure destroyed, as well as daily existence for Gazans – but has also observed global sentiment shift unprecedentedly towards support for Palestinians, pulling governments in its wake. It can recruit from a vast number of angry and traumatised young men.

The Full Plan and Its Disputed Aspects

The full peace plan is still more contentious. Pledges of broad support from governments in the area and in the European continent do not mean that they believe it is workable – still less that they are willing to commit troops to an “international stabilisation force”. But some hope that a more plausible and just way forward might in some way emerge from this situation.

Indeed, this plan is less grotesque than the initial Trumpian vision of a “riviera” built on the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. Palestinians would remain, but would be marginalized, as they were in drawing up the plan. The “peace council” managing Gaza seems like a colonial administration headed by Mr Trump personally and, disturbingly given his past involvement in the area, Tony Blair.

The plan pays lip service to future autonomy and sovereignty as a mere “aspiration” – not a right – of the Palestinian nation, via a path that could not be more vague, conditional or tentative. It declares that the Israeli government will not occupy or annex Gaza. The Israeli prime minister has previously stated that the military would remain in most of it and would “forcibly resist” a Palestinian state.

Influence and Possibilities

The US leader has strong-armed the Israeli prime minister at last, but deadly strikes continue and he, like Joe Biden before him, might have stopped the slaughter much earlier. Instructing the both sides to “move fast” now reflects his short attention span as much as the pressing need for a truce. He will surely accept anything allows him to take the praise. If Israel does stop, it could restart the offensive at any time – exactly like it violated the truce earlier in the year.

Every chance to end this destructive conflict must be taken. A superior outcome may develop from this process, if – a huge if – Mr Trump and others exert continuous strong influence to the Israeli PM and forge a deal that Arab nations can fully support, guaranteeing influence on the militant group. But lasting peace must not be built upon an neglect of fundamental Palestinian entitlements.