Reaction from Hamas, Islamic Jihad, PFLP, and Qatar
Prior to Trump's peace deal being announced, Hamas had repeatedly stressed that it would not discuss disarmament. The group maintains that its weapons are a "national right" and that any talks on the matter will come only after the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Hamas senior media and political adviser Taher al‑Nunu, residing in Qatar, said, "Hamas' weapons will remain tied to the establishment of a Palestinian state." Another senior Hamas leader, Mahmoud Mardawi, said, "The weapons of resistance were never used to attack anyone, but for freedom and independence."
Initial reactions from Hamas on Monday, immediately after the peace deal was announced, came via a source with Reuters. The Hamas source stated the peace plan is "completely biased to [toward] Israel" and imposes "impossible conditions" on Hamas. "What Trump has proposed is the full adoption of all Israeli conditions, which do not grant the Palestinian people or the residents of the Gaza Strip any legitimate rights," the source said.
After Trump and Netanyahu held a joint press conference to announce the peace deal, Mardawi said, "Trump's plan has not reached Hamas or any Palestinian party so far. Its clauses are close to the Israeli position. What happened is an attempt to stifle the international momentum and recognition of the Palestinian state. We will not accept any proposal that does not include determining the fate of the Palestinian people. We will examine the American proposal and discuss it with Palestinian factions."
The second largest terrorist organization in Gaza after Hamas is the Islamic Jihad terror group. Islamic Jihad put out a statement saying that Trump's plan to end the war "is a recipe for continued aggression against the Palestinian people. Through this, Israel is attempting, via the United States, to impose what it could not achieve through war. Therefore, we consider the American-Israeli declaration a formula for igniting the region."
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) is a small terrorist organization in Gaza that has been fighting alongside the two dominant terrorist organizations, Hamas and Islamic Jihad. A senior member of PFLP, Abu Ali Hassan, said, "Trump's plan is a recipe for managing the war and prolonging it, not for its end. [It is] a desperate attempt to separate Gaza from the Palestinian territorial entity."
Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohammed Al-Thani, said, "We passed Trump's plan to Hamas's negotiating delegation and the conversation with them was general. We and Egypt clarified to Hamas our main goal - ending the war. Hamas acted responsibly and promised to study the plan." Al-Thani added, "The plan is in its early stages and needs development. We are trying to create a path that safeguards Palestinian rights. We need to build on the current path and make it effective and successful." That last quote sounds like Hamas will insist on changes to the plan.
Reaction from Israeli politicians
After his meeting with Trump, Netanyahu released a video in which he said that Trump's peace plan is an effort to isolate Hamas from the entire world. According to Netanyahu, "Now the whole world, including the Arab and Muslim world, is pressuring Hamas to accept the conditions we set together with President Trump — to release all our hostages, both the living and the deceased, while the IDF remains in most of the Strip." Netanyahu emphasized that Israel still opposes a Palestinian state and that the peace plan does not establish one. "This is not written in the agreement. We strongly oppose a Palestinian state. President Trump said he understands this, and, of course, we will not agree to it."
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir are the two most politically conservative members of the Israeli Knesset. They are members of Netanyahu's coalition. Both Gvir and Smotrich have repeatedly opposed ending the Gaza war until Hamas is defeated militarily, the entirety of Gaza is reoccupied by the IDF, and the West Bank is annexed.
Smotrich put out two statements on X. The first statement in response to Netanyahu's apology to Qatar read as follows: "Today is the anniversary of the Munich Agreement, signed on 29.9.1938. Then as now, Churchill's statement resonates: 'England could have chosen between disgrace and war; it chose disgrace and will therefore get war as well.' The groveling apology to a state that supports and funds terrorism is a disgrace."
In response to Trump's peace plan, Smotrich criticized celebrations over the peace plan as premature, and said the plan gives up "real achievements on the ground for political illusions." Smotrich opposes allowing a Palestinian security force into Gaza and allowing Qatar to once again become a "central player" in negotiations. Smotrich says it is a "historic missed opportunity to finally break free from the shackles of Oslo, a resounding diplomatic failure, closing our eyes and turning our backs on all the lessons of October 7. In my estimation, this too will end in tears."
However, Smotrich hopes Hamas will reject the plan so the IDF can finish the job the right way. Smotrich continued: "Is there still a chance that something sweet will come from this bitterness? [Will] the enemy's obstinacy once again save us from ourselves, as it has many times in the past, and reality will force us to return to the path of heroism and victory, and taking responsibility for our fate and security, this time with broader international support?"
Itamar Ben Gvir responded to Netanyahu's apology to Qatar with the following message on X: "The attack on Hamas leaders, the planners of the October 7 massacre in the enemy state of Qatar, was an important, just, and supremely moral attack. It is very good that it happened. Whoever sends monsters to burn babies, rape women, and abduct elderly women must know that there is no place in the world where he is safe. It is time to tell the world the truth: Qatar is a state that supports terrorism, funds terrorism, and incites terrorism. No money will cleanse the terrorism from their hands."
Gvir addressed Trump's peace plan during a meeting. Gvir is quoted as saying, "The impending agreement is dangerous for Israel's security." Gvir added, "I will speak about it extensively, Mr. Prime Minister, but already now it must be said that it harms security; it is full of holes and doesn't achieve the war objectives we set. True, we are all excited about the return of the hostages, but the price here is inconceivable and I will have more to say about this matter."
Israel's Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa'ar, warns that Hamas may try to "escape from implementing" the peace plan. Sa'ar added that Hamas is "solely responsible" for the war's continuation by refusing to end the conflict. Sa'ar reiterated that Hamas has not yet accepted the plan and expressed skepticism on the matter: "We know, according to the past, that they [Hamas] usually want to open and close, try changing the terms, and to escape from implementing. But we will see."
Netanyahu's political party is called Likud. Fellow Likud lawmaker Tally Gotliv predicted, "It is clear as day that the cruel and murderous Hamas will not agree to return all our hostages within 72 hours. Only someone who does not understand the Hamas ethos would believe that Hamas will return all our hostages and agree to the outline." Gotliv added, "I hope that I am completely wrong this time."
Trump's Ultimatum
Trump announced that he will give the Hamas terrorist organization "three or four days" to agree to his Gaza peace plan. "Hamas is either going to be doing it or not, and if it's not, it's going to be a very sad end." Trump was asked if there is room for negotiations on the peace plan. "Not much," he replied.
My Analysis
Since October 7, 2023, Hamas has rejected or undermined every ceasefire and peace plan that has been proposed to them. On the few occasions that Hamas has not outright rejected a plan, they respond with a counteroffer they know Israel will reject. On the even fewer occasions Hamas has agreed to a ceasefire, they have intentionally acted in bad faith by not abiding by the rules of the agreement. When Hamas ignores the terms of a ceasefire, they always blame Israel, and then the international press sides with Hamas, ignores the facts, and spreads lies around the world.
Here is a short history of the attempts to end the war with Hamas since October 7, 2023, and why each attempt collapsed.
On November 24, 2023, an agreement was reached to have a four-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of 50 of the more than 200 hostages Hamas held back at that time. After four days, an additional two-day extension was established where Hamas released 20 additional hostages. Then, a single-day second extension was agreed to, under which Hamas released an additional 16 hostages. However, Hamas refused to release more hostages after the two extensions, and the IDF resumed the war against Hamas.
On May 27, 2024, a ceasefire agreement was proposed to Hamas, and they replied with a counteroffer they knew Israel would reject. Hamas refused to stop fighting unless the IDF withdrew completely from Gaza. Hamas also refused to provide a full list of the hostages that they would release. The ceasefire was never achieved due to Hamas's refusal to accept the conditions.
A day before Trump was sworn in for his second term as president, a ceasefire went into effect in which Hamas released 33 hostages over a six-week period. There was supposed to be a second phase of the deal that Hamas never fully agreed to, always insisting on changing the terms. During this time, Hamas took the opportunity to rebuild tunnels and infrastructure. Sixteen days after the initial six-week ceasefire agreement had ended, Hamas had still not agreed to the terms of the second phase. Israel had had enough, and the IDF resumed its military campaign to destroy Hamas.
Due to the games Hamas has played in the past, Netanyahu insisted that any Trump peace plan require all the hostages to be released first and quickly at the start of any ceasefire. This is a condition Hamas will almost certainly not abide by, since it knows that once there are zero hostages left, the IDF will have no qualms about bombing anywhere and everywhere to eliminate Hamas. My prediction is that Hamas will be forced to accept the deal, will release some hostages initially, but will not release all of them after 72 hours. Then Israel will give Hamas a few more days to comply, and then the IDF will resume fighting to capture the entire Gaza Strip and remove Hamas from power. Time will tell if my prediction is correct or not.
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