Trump’s Gaza plan ignores history, justice and the agency of Palestinians
London, 30th September – President Trump’s announcement yesterday of his ’20-point plan’ for Gaza, embraced by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, marks a shallow and vague attempt at bringing peace to the Middle East that is void of the very Palestinian voices it claims it will protect.
Though an end to the genocide is desperately overdue, the plan’s vague withdrawal terms and lack of enforcement mechanisms effectively hand Netanyahu the tools to stall or derail peace – just as Israel has done with past agreements and through recent actions such as bombing those they are meant to be negotiating for peace with, in Qatar.
The plan fails to confront the root causes of Israel’s occupation of Palestine, and while it may offer a temporary halt to the ongoing genocide, it does nothing to ensure a lasting end to Palestinian suffering and leaves intact the very conditions that enable future Israeli aggression. Moreover, it does nothing to address justice for Palestinians who have suffered under Israeli aggression, nor does it address accountability for Israeli perpetrators of war crimes.
The plan’s inclusion of an international ‘Board of Peace’, headed by Trump and including figures such as Tony Blair, is an idle attempt at governance in the region, ensuring the exclusion of Palestinian voices from the decision-making of Palestinian futures. The plan would impose externally approved ‘solutions’ on the Palestinian people that ignores the lived realities and grievances on the ground.
The colonial implications in asking Palestinians to accept the foreign decision-making of figures like Blair, is not only conceited, but also undermines any attempts at genuine peace-making. It is a paternalistic neo-colonial approach that undermines the principle of self-government that must be central to Palestinians’ futures, and will only further fragment the political structure of Palestine, leading to a greater forced separation between Gaza and the West Bank.
The issue of a Palestinian state is left until the end of Trump’s plan, which details the establishment of “an interfaith dialogue process” to promote “the values of tolerance and peaceful coexistence”. This ensures an opportunity for Israel to sidestep a commitment to a Palestinian state and continue to deny the Palestinian people the right to self-determination.
The plan’s dangerously vague proposals for Israeli withdrawal from Gaza were already undermined today when Netanyahu confirmed that Israeli troops will remain in “most” of Gaza. Netanyahu also shrugged off any suggestion that the plan calls for a two-state solution, insisting that a Palestinian state will “absolutely not” happen. Whilst provision of aid is tantamount, it is once again being tied conditionally to political asks. Aid is not political, and Israel must be forced to permit aid, regardless of the political realities of a ceasefire.
By focusing exclusively on Gaza, the plan also reinforces the fragmentation of Palestine and treats Gaza as an isolated crisis rather than part of the broader realities of illegal occupation and apartheid rule. This undermines the concept of a unified Palestinian state and will further solidify the long-standing Israeli strategy of divide-and-conquer strategies, seeking to weaken the national unity, governance, and collective political agency of Palestinians.
As a legal organisation, ICJP cannot support a plan for Gaza that is silent on delivering accountability for Israeli perpetrators of war crimes, omits a role for the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ) to deliver justice for victims, and fails to include the Palestinian voice in Palestinian decision-making.
ICJP’s Public Affairs and Communications Officer Órlaith Roe said:
“This plan offers Israel yet another opportunity to pause, rearm, and then return to violence with renewed impunity. Steeped in colonial rhetoric, it makes no attempt to address the underlying injustices or decades of dispossession endured by Palestinians, providing neither justice nor accountability.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
1. The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians is an independent organisation of lawyers, politicians and academics who support the rights of Palestinians and aim to protect their rights through the law.
2. For more information, to arrange an interview with a spokesperson, or to view a full copy of the letter, please contact the ICJP news desk at press@icjpalestine.com.