United States President, Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu are meeting in the White House for a fourth time this year on Monday as a plan for future governance of a Gaza decimated by Israel’s nearly two-year genocidal war circulates, and the ironclad relationship between the two countries could be tested.
Trump promised “greatness in the Middle East” and “something special” in another all-caps post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.
He has made repeated statements recently that it is time for the war to end.
Netanyahu, for his part, told Fox News on Monday that Israel is working with Washington to “make (the plan) a go”.
The 21-point “day after” war plan was first presented to Arab and Muslim leaders on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meetings in New York last week.
According to numerous Israeli and Western reports, the plan says Hamas must release all 48 remaining captives in Gaza, about 20 of whom are believed to be alive, within two days.
Hamas fighters will allegedly be allowed to leave Gaza or offered amnesty if they renounce resistance. Significant humanitarian aid will be allowed into the famine-stricken enclave, some Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli military jails, and Israeli forces will gradually withdraw.
According to reports, the Palestinian group said in a statement on Sunday that it had received no new proposal from mediators Egypt and Qatar, both of whom have reportedly received the Trump proposal.
But Hamas said it would consider a new offer to end the war, as its armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, warned that contact was lost with teams holding two Israeli captives in Gaza City amid an expanding Israeli ground invasion and aerial bombardment, which is killing dozens of Palestinian civilians daily and destroying the area further.
