GATESTONE
Why Trump’s Gaza Plan is Not a Peace Deal
Khaled Abu Toameh
December 4, 2025

US President Donald J. Trump’s plan for ending the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip is not a “peace plan.” In the eyes of Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups, the plan is nothing but another temporary ceasefire, not different than previous ones reached between Israel and Hamas over the past two decades. It is a mistake even to call it a “peace plan”: Hamas has not yet abandoned its stated goal of destroying Israel and replacing it with an Islamist state. Hamas, moreover, has never — to this day — recognized Israel’s right to exist. Instead, Hamas continues to hold onto the idea that: “The land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered; it, or any part of it, should not be given up. Neither a single Arab country nor all Arab countries, neither any king or president, nor all kings and presidents, neither any organization nor all of them, be they Palestinian or Arab, possess the right to do that.” (Hamas Charter, Article 11). READ MORE