Former Biden-era Deputy Assistant Brett McGurk praised President Donald Trump’s Israel-Hamas peace deal proposal on Monday that aims to bring an end to the nearly two-year-long conflict.
Trump unveiled his plan to end the war by making Gaza a deradicalized, terror-free zone and by redeveloping the region “for the benefit of the people,” which earned the support of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. McGurk said on “CNN News Central” that the plan is a “huge step forward” to achieving peace in the Middle East and that all sides should call on Hamas to take this deal.
“I don’t care what side of this awful war or what side you’re on. Call on Hamas to take this deal. This is the end of the war,” McGurk said. “It basically says Hamas has to have no role in Gaza, they have to demilitarize, yeah, they’re gonna say ‘no way’ … But this is how you end the war and this is how you have a better life for Palestinians. And there’s stuff in here that Israel and members of Bibi’s coalition that they won’t like. It completely rejects that Gazans will be forced to leave Gaza, it says here that that cannot happen. Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza, it’s very clear in here. Again, I think this is a huge step forward.”
“I commend the team for working on this, I think this builds on a lot of work that we did in the last administration, I have to say. But it’s significant and having Netanyahu say yes, I support your plan, is very significant,” McGurk continued.
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If both sides agree to the plan, all military operations will be suspended and all hostages will be released, whether they are alive or deceased. Gaza will then be governed by a temporary transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical committee that will be made up of “qualified Palestinians and international experts.” Under Trump’s plan, no person will be forced to leave Gaza.
Netanyahu said that the plan achieves Israel’s war aims by bringing a return to “security responsibility.”
“All our hostages, both those who are alive and those who died, all of them will return home immediately. Hamas will be disarmed. Gaza will be demilitarized. Israel will retain security responsibility, including a security perimeter for the foreseeable future. And lastly, Gaza will have a peaceful civilian administration that is run neither by Hamas nor by the Palestinian Authority,” Netanyahu said at a press conference at the White House.
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