Edinburgh , Donald Trump’s Board of Peace published a 15-point roadmap for Gaza in late July in which Hamas would hand its weapons to a committee of Palestinian technocrats, certified by an international verification body, and Israel would withdraw from the strip in phases. After Israel officially rejected the plan on August 9, US envoy Jared Kushner flew to the Egyptian coast to meet Hamas representatives.
The so-called Trump Declaration for Enduring Peace and Prosperity was signed on October 13 by the leaders of the US, Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye. On August 17, the Board of Peace assured the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that Israeli forces would not move out of Gaza until disarmament of Hamas was complete. A follow-up mechanism was announced by Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani, alongside the deal rather than written into it. Neither Israel nor Hamas signed it.
But four governments cannot promise tolerance and human rights on behalf of two parties that did not sign, and nothing in the text says what they will do to make them. It said nothing about who sits on the body, including women, who appear in the agreement only in relation to prisoners and hostages. Under the UN resolution, statehood becomes possible once reform of the Palestinian Authority, which was created in 1994 as an interim administration for Gaza and the West Bank, is “faithfully carried out” and redevelopment in Gaza “has advanced”.
The guarantors – the US, Egypt and Qatar – were asked only to work towards continued negotiation. Guarantors were given the ability to log issues, but not enforce the agreement. This agreement committed signatories to a broad set of principles around religious tolerance, human rights, security and dialogue across the region. That is not unusual, as guarantors often sign what warring parties will not. Nobody was appointed to judge when either has happened. However, the phased withdrawal of Israeli troops the roadmap had promised has now been reversed. Verification of this disarmament has also shifted from a multilateral committee to an American general.
