Trump's Gaza Ceasefire Envoy Criticizes Israel at UN
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- Nikolay Mladenov, Board of Peace high representative, told the UN Security Council that Israel's ongoing strikes since last October's ceasefire are still killing Palestinians and warned the alternative to Trump's 20-point plan is 'the next war.'
- Mladenov insisted the plan 'has moved from the negotiating table to the engineering table' and has not stalled, saying Hamas has already agreed to the key provision to disarm and transfer Gaza to civilian rule.
- Israeli PM Netanyahu told Mladenov and Jared Kushner at a meeting last week that his forces will not withdraw from current positions in Gaza until Hamas hands over all its weapons.
- Israel's deputy UN ambassador Noa Furman reiterated Israel's commitment to Trump's plan but said it 'can't succeed while Hamas remains armed,' making disarmament the precondition for withdrawal.
- Mladenov issued a stark warning that if war resumes, 'there won't be a roadmap to return to or anything left on the ground to rebuild' — calling it 'a point of no return for everyone.'
- The Trump plan includes a 'credible pathway to a political horizon' and a two-state solution, but Netanyahu 'vehemently opposes' a Palestinian state, exposing a structural contradiction in the endgame.
Why it matters: Mladenov's public rebuke is a rare on-record split between Trump's ceasefire architect and Israel, with the US point man warning Israeli strikes are undermining the disarmament timeline. The practical stakes: Netanyahu refuses withdrawal before full disarmament, Hamas won't disarm before withdrawal, and Mladenov says collapse would leave 'a point of no return' with no fallback framework.
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