Trump-Netanyahu news conference

[Twiglets1]

Trump says Netanyahu has agreed to US Gaza peace plan

Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are now in front of the media for their joint news conference, with US and Israeli flags as their backdrop.

Trump starts by saying "this is a big, big day, potentially one of the greatest days ever in civilisation".

He thanks Netanyahu "for really getting in there and doing a job".

"We worked well together, as we have with many other countries," he says.

https://news.sky.com/story/gaza-latest-netanyahu-to-meet-trump-as-hostage-families-tell-us-president-we-need-you-13440749

Hamas are the 'only ones left' to agree to White House plan

Hamas leaders are the only party left to not agree to the White House's Gaza plan, Trump says.

The US president thanks a roll call of world leaders who he says has helped bring about his plan for peace in Gaza.

He lists leaders from:
Saudia Arabia,
UAE,
Jordan,
Turkey,
Indonesia,
Pakistan,
Egypt.

Many of these, he says, will be important in "dealing" with Hamas.

Speaking of Hamas, he says:
"I hope that we're going to have a deal for peace, and, if Hamas rejects the deal, which is always possible, they're the only ones left. Everyone else has accepted it. But, I have a feeling that we're going to have a positive answer. But if not, as you know Bibi [Netanyahu], you'd have our full backing to do what you would have to do."

https://news.sky.com/story/gaza-latest-netanyahu-to-meet-trump-as-hostage-families-tell-us-president-we-need-you-13440749

Netanyahu just finished speaking. Trump speaking now.

@Twiglets1 do you know what happens next? Are we waiting to hear from Hamas/Qatar their response?

I missed it but listening to commentary

Hamas haven’t agreed to this? It could be an issue?

It would basically mean giving Gaza to the USA (and more specifically Trump). Given his previous 'proposals', the comments about redeveloping it but not for the Palestinians, the whole gold statue thing, it's an absolutely awful idea.

I had hoped that a deal could be made, and whilst I had major concerns about some terms (it leaves Gaza fully vulnerable to unlimited Israeli actions on whim without consequence), if thought maybe it was something. This however is a breathtakingly awful plan.

There's a lot more detail about what was said at the news conference on the BBC website or on this thread:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/conflict-in-the-middle-east/5416333-trumps-new-gaza-plan?page=1

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cd63wl4z6q3t

Qatar have agreed to the plan already.

Qatar informed the US administration that it would be able to persuade Hamas to disarm and accept the Trump-backed deal, Sky News Arabia reported on Monday.

Qatari officials reportedly told President Trump and the Arab states that it was "capable of persuading Hamas to agree to a deal that includes demilitarization," a source familiar with the details told The Jerusalem Post.

www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-869004

@EllaDisenchanted but we don't know the Hamas response yet.

thanks @Twiglets1

I'm sure that Qatar can convince the Hamas leadership in Qatar to accept the deal (provided that they get to keep their luxurious lifestyle). But I can't see how they could persuade the Hamas leaders and senior operatives based in Gaza to accept the deal.

I don’t understand what’s changed.

The ‘deal’ includes Hamas giving hostages back - surely that’s been the condition since they took them and it’s pretty clear they have absolutely no intention of doing that no matter how much destruction and death it means for Gaza..

They agreed to that in the previous ceasefire deal and were driving to it, until Israel broke the ceasefire.

Well it depends on who the Hamas leaders and senior operatives in Gaza report to? I always assumed they reported to the top leaders who were mostly living abroad.

I could be wrong about that, it was just my assumption.

I also think it's possible that Iran will turn against Hamas now too - if they fall for Trump's charms re saying the US "wants to get along with Iran" and saying about the Abraham Accords, "who knows maybe even Iran can get in there".

I think the main thing that has changed is all the ME countries behind this new peace plan. Qatar, Saudia Arabia, UAE, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan and Egypt.

Islamic and Arab nations issue joint statement welcoming Trump's Gaza plan

Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt have all issued a joint statement welcoming Trump's efforts to end the war in Gaza.

The foreign ministers of the countries said they were ready to "cooperate positively" with the US and other countries to finalise the agreement and ensure its implementation.

The statement adds:
"The ministers welcome the announcement by President Trump regarding his proposal to end the war, rebuild Gaza, prevent the displacement of the Palestinian people and advance a comprehensive peace, as well as his announcement that he will not allow the annexation of the West Bank."

news.sky.com/story/gaza-latest-netanyahu-to-meet-trump-as-hostage-families-tell-us-president-we-need-you-13440749

If they are all behind it.....

Isn’t it in that statement?

I believe Israel ‘broke the last ceasefire’ because Hamas reneged on its side of the agreement and didn’t release hostages as planned. They were also rearming. Which means Israel didn’t actually break the ceasefire.

There seems to be an awful lot of international pressure for Hamas to agree to this peace deal but I’ll be flabbergasted if they a) stand down and relinquish power in Gaza and b) don’t try and use a pause in fighting to rally people and arms to their cause. I so hope to be proven wrong though.

No, that's not what happened. It was a three-stage ceasefire. Hamas released hostages in stage 1 as planned.

At the end of the 42-day stage 1, they were supposed to move to stage 2. This stage involved the release of all living hostages, but also withdrawal of the IDF.

Israel refused to move to stage 2, and instead wanted to extend stage 1 and for the hostages to be released without going to stage two. This obviously changed the terms of the ceasefire deal.

We have no idea of whether Hamas would have released all the living hostages in stage 2, but we know they did in stage 1, albeit with those horrible ceremonies. But Israel didn't want to withdraw even though that was part of the negotiated ceasefire they'd agreed, and in effect threw the remaining hostages under a bus.

Israel also continued to bomb and to kill Palestinians during that ceasefire.

If Israel had stuck with the terms of that ceasefire, we could have had peace a long time ago.

In fact, Israel refused to move to Stage 2 of the agreement because Hamas changed the list of Palestinian prisoners they wanted released in exchange for the hostages, substituting high security, dangerous convicted murderers and terrorists for the original low security prisoners, women and minors and in greater numbers than stipulated by the agreement. Hamas changed the terms and broke the ceasefire.

Can you give me some evidence of this please? It's pretty much accepted that Israel broke the cease fire.

Just like they will break this ceasefire too. Netanyahu doesn’t want peace because it means an election, and we all know what that means for his political career. Remember this post,

Did you miss the January deal

Agree Netanyahu broke the ceasefire just at the stage where the first withdrawal of the IDF was required