Trump could chair ‘board of peace’ to govern Gaza if Hamas accepts ‘peace’ plan: Live

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who could join a “peace” committee to govern postwar Gaza under a White House plan, has praised the proposal as the best chance of ending “two years of war, misery and suffering.”

“President Trump has put down a bold and intelligent plan which, if agreed, can end the war, bring immediate relief to Gaza, the chance of a brighter and better future for its people, whilst ensuring Israel’s absolute and enduring security and the release of all hostages,” he said in his first public statement on the issue.

“It offers us the best chance of ending two years of war, misery and suffering and I thank President Trump for his leadership, determination and commitment,” he added.

Under the plan, Trump would chair a so-called Board of Peace that would serve as an oversight committee for local governance.

Trump steering the plan is a “huge signal of support and confidence in the future of Gaza, of the possibility of Israelis and Palestinians finding a path to peace, and of the potential for a broader regional and global alliance to counter the forces of extremism and promote peace and prosperity between nations,” according to Blair.

Netanyahu offered Hamas a take-it-or-leave it approach to a 20-point proposal from Donald Trump that would require Hamas to disarm and give up any role in Gaza’s postwar governance.

Andrew Feinberg has more from the White House:

Trump’s 20-point plan explicitly states that Palestinians will not be “forced to leave” Gaza, walking back Trump’s comments earlier this year stating that the United States will “clean out that whole thing”and “take over” and “own” the besieged strip.

Now, “no one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return,” according to the proposal.

“We will encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza,” the plan states.

Hamas negotiators said they would review it “in good faith” and respond accordingly, he reported.

The group that represents the families of people held hostage in Gaza have praised the White House plan for an ostensible end to Israel’s war.

“After almost two years of unimaginable anguish, we stand at a historic turning point,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum wrote on social media.

They also called on Netanyahu “to immediately order a cessation of fighting in Gaza” and urged world leaders to continue to apply pressure on Hamas.

“The world must apply maximum pressure to ensure Hamas commits to this historic opportunity for peace,” the group wrote. “Yet even as we celebrate this breakthrough, we will not rest until the last hostage is back home. This is our moral obligation. All 48 hostages must return.”

An official for Hamas told Reuters that “Hamas hasn’t yet received the plan officially; nothing beyond media reports.”

Trump and Netanyahu made it clear that the latest White House plan is conditioned on the effective elimination of Hamas, both politically and militarily, after months of statements asserting that it does not plan to disarm.

If Hamas does not agree to the plan, Trump will allow Israel to “do what you have to do.”

“Israel would have my full backing to finish the job of destroying the threat of Hamas,” Trump said.

Neither Trump nor Netanyahu agreed to take questions from the room of reporters following remarks on the White House plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza.

Trump even suggested that Netanyahu could hear from a “friendly” Israeli media outlet, but Netanyahu said the president’s instinct to leave without hearing from reporters was in their best interest.

Neither the president nor prime minister responded to shouted questions from The Independent’s White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg about whether any Palestinians were consulted.

As Trump handed off to Netanyahu, the president called the White House’s postwar plan the Israeli prime minister’s “crowning achievement.”

Netanyahu said the plan is a “critical step towards ending the war in Gaza” that sets “the stage for dramatically advancing peace in the Middle East.”

The plan “achieves our war aims,” Netanyahu said, including releasing all hostages, dismantling Hamas’s military capabilities and governance, and ensuring “Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.”

Israel will gradually withdraw from Gaza but remain on the security perimeter indefinitely, he said.

“But if Hamas rejects your plan … then Israel will finish the job, by itself,” he said.

“This can be done the easy way, or it can be done the hard way,” he said.

Trump derailed from his prepared remarks on the 20-step White House plan for peace in Gaza to ramble about his appearance at the United Nations and a “dead” teleprompter while comparing his speech to his predecessor.

“The United Nations was interesting because as you know, a few days ago they introduced me, ‘ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States.’ I’m looking at my teleprompter and that thing was dead, stone cold dead,” he said.

“I actually got good marks,” he said. “Do you think Biden could’ve done that? I don’t think so.”

The president also repeatedly noted his pronunciation of Abraham, joking it’s how “the real people” would say it.

“I would say Abraham but it is so nicer when you say ‘Abraham.’ So much more elegant,” he said.

He spoke for roughly 30 minutes uninterrupted.

The White House released a map to accompany its 20-point plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza: