The Washington Post and its leading national security columnist, David Ignatius, have labeled the so-called “peace plan” for Gaza the “real deal.”  Ignatius’ view of the plan, which is essentially an ultimatum to Hamas that would amount to an unconditional surrender to Israel, is the latest example of Ignatius finding “light at the end of the tunnel” regarding U.S. initiatives on behalf of Israel or the impact of U.S. military weaponry in Ukraine’s war with Russia.  In 2023, Ignatius wrote that the “thing about tunnels is that you keep moving through them, darkness eventually gives way to light.”  In the meantime, the Russian and Israeli killing machines continue their genocidal warfare.

Photograph SourcE: Zeev Barkan – CC BY 2.0

The Washington Post and its leading national security columnist, David Ignatius, have labeled the so-called “peace plan” for Gaza the “real deal.” Ignatius’ view of the plan, which is essentially an ultimatum to Hamas that would amount to an unconditional surrender to Israel, is the latest example of Ignatius finding “light at the end of the tunnel” regarding U.S. initiatives on behalf of Israel or the impact of U.S. military weaponry in Ukraine’s war with Russia. In 2023, Ignatius wrote that the “thing about tunnels is that you keep moving through them, darkness eventually gives way to light.” In the meantime, the Russian and Israeli killing machines continue their genocidal warfare.

Donald Trump’s “peace plan” was carefully constructed to benefit Israeli interests with regard to ending the war and releasing the hostages. All matters of interest to the Palestinians were either ignored or obfuscated to create the illusion of future stability and security in a “new Gaza.” The plan is not the “comprehensive vision” that the mainstream media has concluded. In actual fact, the plan is ambiguous about every detail that could bring stability, let alone peace, to the region. Trump’s refusal to provide visas to the Palestinian Authority to attend last month’s UN General Assembly, including the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, does not augur well for his administration’s willingness to protect Palestinian rights.

The so-called peace plan states that the end of Hamas rule in Gaza would be replaced by a “technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee” to be overseen by a supervisory “Board of Peace” led by Trump as Chairman. However, the leadership role will be in the hands of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has long been a villain to Arab states. Blair has been trying to insert himself into the the peace process for years in order to compensate for his complicity with President George W. Bush’s deceitful war with Iraq two decades ago. The Israelis have never been willing to work closely with Blair, and the Arab states have not forgotten his indecent role in Iraq on behalf of Bush.

In any event, Israel has never indicated it would work with Palestinians on any “technocratic” or “apolitical” basis to stabilize Gaza, and the plan contains no clear line or timing for actual Israeli withdrawal. The plan makes no mention of the nations that will finance the work that needs to be done and who would actually perform the work that will take decades. Nevertheless, Ignatius calls the proposed Board of Peace a “game changer.”

The first version of Trump’s “peace plan” stated that the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority would eventually govern Gaze, but Netanyahu resisted a role for the Palestinian Authority and that language was removed. Netanyahu has always referred to the Authority as a “terrorist state.” It is difficult to imagine that Netanyahu would not insist on a security role in Gaza or would allow an international force to provide security.

In any event, it is difficult to imagine any stability without an active U.S. role in reconstruction and development, but there is no indication that Trump is willing to pursue any long-term U.S. involvement. There are references in the plan to an International Stabilization Force that would involve the United States, Egypt, and Jordan, but Israel has never committed to working with its Arab neighbors to stabilize Gaza. Egypt and Jordan are also cited for the training of Palestinian security services in Gaza, but once again there is no Israeli commitment to allow Arab participation in the security arena.

The only time there has been effective training of Palestinian security services was nearly thirty years ago, when the Clinton administration involved the Central Intelligence Agency in training Palestinian security forces for the West Bank. Israel currently is involved in destroying security for Palestinians on the West Bank, paying no attention to the well-trained Palestinian security force.

The Palestinian force has never been effective against the Jewish settlers on the West Bank, let alone the Israeli Defense Forces.

Ignatius concludes that Trump has “laid a strong foundation” for Israeli-Palestinian peace, ignoring the fact that the Trump administration has weakened or destroyed the very agencies of the U.S. government—such as the Department of State and the Agency for International Development—that would have to play a role in reconstructing and developing Gaza. He credits Trump with giving up “his initial ideas for forced relocation of Gazan Palestinians,” but fails to note that Prime Minister Netanyahu and his right-wing government haven’t given up on such displacement, which would represent Nakba 2.0.

Finally, Ignatius finds that Trump “deserves the credit he craves” for opening the “door to something different” regarding Gaza. What Trump has done is to outline in very broad and simplistic strokes what is needed to be done. Furthermore, he has done so in a way that allows him to walk away from the struggle, just as he has walked away from the war between Russia and Ukraine. It appears that the wars that he said he would end in 24 hours have a long and horrific way to go.

The one dispositive comment that Trump made, which Ignatius conveniently ignored, is to tell Netanyahu that”you can do what you want” in Gaza if Hamas rejects the peace plan. The Arab states fully recognize that only a month ago, the Trump administration imposed strict sanctions on the four Palestinian human rights organizations that would have an important role to play in any attempt to actually find stability and security in Gaza and the West Bank. These steps not only undermined the global rule of law, but indicated that the United States is not serous about securing Palestinian rights.

The post What is It: Peace Plan or Ultimatum? appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

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