Gaza Peace Plan: Why It’s Failing Now

Trump-Netanyahu Meeting Looms as Gaza peace Plan Faces Imminent Crisis

A fragile, three-phase peace plan for Gaza is on the brink of collapse as President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepare too meet at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, a moment described by some as potentially decisive for the stalled initiative. Despite an initial ceasefire agreement reached in October and a United Nations Security Council resolution endorsing the plan in mid-November, progress has ground to a halt, leaving the future of Gaza uncertain and its people facing continued hardship.

A Plan divided: Zones of Control and Unequal Access

The current framework,initiated on October 10th,hinges on a phased approach. The first phase involved a ceasefire, prisoner exchanges, and an Israeli withdrawal to a monitored boundary – the “yellow line” – which nonetheless left Israel in control of over half of Gaza.While intended to facilitate humanitarian aid and allow for the return of displaced Palestinians, the plan instantly conditioned reconstruction on stringent security benchmarks and the demilitarization of Hamas and other armed factions.

However, the plan extends beyond a simple sequence of withdrawals. It establishes a “zonal map” dividing Gaza into areas with vastly different levels of access and control, effectively dictating where Palestinians can live and rebuild.This division has become a major point of contention, with Hamas now denouncing the framework as an attempt to solidify a permanent security order rather than address the immediate humanitarian crisis. The group has firmly rejected calls to disarm and opposes the deployment of an international Stabilization Force (I.S.F.) to enforce these conditions, arguing it would unfairly favor Israel and infringe upon their right to resistance.

Key terms– The “yellow line” refers to the monitored boundary to which Israel initially withdrew. The “green zone” is authorized for reconstruction, while the “red zone” faces indefinite delays.

Israeli Concerns and Palestinian Exclusion

Israeli officials,for their part,have emphasized the need to maintain buffer zones and “operational freedom” to conduct raids within the Gaza Strip,raising further doubts about the plan’s viability.According to one senior official, preserving these security measures is paramount to preventing future conflict.

Critically,Palestinians were largely excluded from the drafting process. The plan stipulates that they can only participate onc their institutions – specifically, a reformed Palestinian Authority (P.A.) – meet benchmarks set by a new governing body, the Board of Peace, chaired by the United States and including Israel and Egypt. This requirement is particularly problematic given the P.A. has not held national elections as 2006,and continues to grapple with issues of legitimacy and governance. One analyst noted that a P.A. reformed to meet Washington’s criteria is fundamentally different from one democratically elected by the Palestinian people.

Palestinian Authority Elections– The P.A. has not held national elections as 2006, raising questions about its legitimacy and governance.

The Color-Coded Reality on the Ground

The impact of the plan is already visible in Gaza, where residents are grappling with a new reality defined by a color-coded map. The green zone, encompassing territory along Gaza’s eastern perimeter and areas seized during recent Israeli operations, is the only area authorized for reconstruction in the initial stages. Foreign contractors, under the supervision of the I.S.F. and the Israeli army, are slated to build critical infrastructure and coordinate humanitarian efforts, with Israel retaining a functional veto over all rebuilding projects.

In stark contrast, the red zone, comprising roughly half of Gaza and including its most densely populated neighborhoods, faces indefinite delays in reconstruction. The plan stipulates that rebuilding will not commence until stringent security demands – including verified disarmament, stable patrol lines, and cleared supply routes – are met. Given the current political impasse and Hamas’s refusal to disarm, fulfilling these conditions appears increasingly unlikely, effectively encoding displacement as an acceptable outcome of the conflict.

The meeting between president Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu represents a critical juncture. Whether they can overcome the deep-seated obstacles and revive the stalled Gaza peace plan remains to be seen, but the current trajectory suggests a deepening crisis for the region and its people.