Trump’s Gaza Plan Presents a Central Challenge: The Disarming of Hamas

On Monday Hamas set free 20 alive hostages and later returned bodies of rest of the deceased hostages as per phase one of TRUMP’s 20-point peace plan. Israel on its part released 250 Palestinians serving various terms in Israeli prisons as well as 1700 other prisoners who were captured during Israeli onslaught on the coastal area since October 8, 2023, when Israel responded to the Hamas attack on southern part of Israel killing around 1200 people while taking some 250 as hostages. Israel responded to the act with an all-out military attack which saw around 70,000 Palestinians killed majority of them women and children which many leading scholars on genocide, human rights organizations and UN called genocide. Gaza strip witnessed around 3% of its total population being killed in the time of 2 years of Israeli attack.

The genocide came to halt when finally both Hamas and Israel agreed to ceasefire as per the plan proposed by US President Donald Trump in September during his meeting with various heads of states of different Arab and Muslim countries. Subsequently, Israel withdrew its troops from Gaza to the yellow line as per agreed in the terms of first phase. Monday marked the most important event of first phase, Hamas releasing Israeli hostages and eventual freeing up of Palestinians from Israeli prisons.

Monday also marked the signing of “Declaration of Gaza Peace Plan” in Sharm-al-Sheikh in Egyptian capital Cairo in a historic summit attended by leaders of 20 countries and led by American President Donald Trump with host Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. The agreement apparently lacks some serious effective measures in the upcoming phases. The question of Palestinian group handing over its weapon is not clear and the path towards it is ambiguous. If it does not give up its weapons then the Israeli assault on the besieged territory might resume. That would blow up the ongoing peace prospect and the hell will break out again on the common Gazans already suffering from huge devastation.

As per many analysts Hamas is not ready to handover its conventional weapons as long as Israel does not end its occupation of the territory. Still, Hamas may hand over some of its missiles especially its short-range missiles but not its entire weaponry. On its part Hamas may believe once its military power completely diminishes, Israel might attack it again using lethal weaponry even after assurance from American and many West Asian countries. Hamas conditions hand over of its entire weaponry on Israeli leaving of the territory and complete hand over of control of the territory to International Stabilization Force (ISF). Hamas disarmament seems apparently impossible pertaining to current political situation in the region but President Trump administration’s assurance to Hamas of Israel not striking it again may bring Hamas to a agreeable point.

Trump plan contains some serious loopholes but the clause of disarmament seems the most debatable one. The hope of transition of region towards tranquility after the devastating war could be tied to the Declaration of Gaza plan in Cairo where Egypt, Qatar, Turkey along with United States signed the declaration as guarantors. Peace is the most awaited and much loved state for majority of ordinary Gazans, but the prospects and road to it are not clearly visible. The current political situation and evolving geopolitics could ramp up the process once broken down long ago in 2000s. After a hopeful plan of mutual declaration signed by leaders of both sides, the Oslo accord called for the peaceful co-existence and creation of a viable Palestinian State. That peace initiative fractured after the assassination of both Yitzhak Rabin and Yasir Arafat the leaders of the both parties and subsequent capture of power in both sides by right wing groups.

Concluding, Trump’s peace plan contains many loopholes and the term of Hamas seems the most contested one. Hamas conditions to disarm currently seems hard to agree due to staunch Israeli agreement to keep the territory under occupation. The fragile agreement have though stopped the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza but the prevailing situation seems it might get resumed if both sides do not agree on a common point regarding disarmament.