Israel sabotages Trump's Gaza peace plan
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- Israel has killed more than 1,000 Palestinians and injured more than 3,000 in Gaza since the October ceasefire, with operations continuing — possibly intensifying — after the US-Iran war began, including an attack on a Jabalia police station that killed at least eight people.
- Israel expanded its controlled area in Gaza from 53% to 60% and erected fortifications along the "yellow line," cementing indefinite occupation of more than half the Strip in direct violation of Trump's 20-point plan.
- Israel has barred the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), the technocratic body called for under the Trump plan, from entering the territory, leaving the committee stranded in a Cairo hotel even after Hamas dissolved its own governing body to hand over authority.
- Hamas accepted the NCAG transition and expressed willingness to disarm under the plan's terms, conditioning cooperation on Israel ceasing targeted killings, allowing humanitarian aid, and not extending its occupation beyond the yellow line.
- Israel's "Free Movement Plan" — which encourages Palestinians to leave Gaza — directly violates point 12 of the Trump plan, which states "no one will be forced to leave Gaza" and pledges to encourage people to stay.
- Trump's "Board of Peace" abandoned its vision of full Gaza reconstruction in favor of a tiny pilot program unlikely to materialize before year's end, while Israel blocks aid organizations and restricts "dual-use" items ranging from sleeping bags to portable toilets.
- The US-Iran war is diverting Trump's attention from Gaza, and any pressure he applies to Netanyahu will likely concern Iran rather than Palestinian matters, leaving Netanyahu free to continue undermining the plan.
Why it matters: Israel's defiance of the 20-point plan carries direct human costs — over 1,000 Palestinians killed and 3,000 injured since October — while structurally, Israeli-controlled territory has expanded from 53% to 60% of Gaza, making reconstruction and Palestinian self-governance under the plan increasingly untenable. The US administration is the only actor with leverage to reverse this trajectory, but the Iran war is consuming its bandwidth.
