The Trump Plan is designed to reframe the issues in favour of Israel. Palestinians have been betrayed again.

The indicted war criminal Netanyahu has got what he wants. The felon, Trump, so eager for a Nobel Peace Prize, has obliged him. Tony Blair’s involvement suggests satire rather than diplomacy.

It is reported that the Plan was designed by Netanyahu’s right-hand man Ron Dermer and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. It was claimed that the Plan was endorsed by (puppet) Arab states. It now seems the Plan they saw was later amended by Netanyahu without their knowledge as to the conditions and timetable for Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza. It is also reported that the original Trump Plan had 21 points, but only 20 points survived. The dropped point was a commitment by Israel not to annex the West Bank.

As Jeremy Bowen, the BBC’s international editor, put it, “Hamas is being offered a choice between accepting injustice, denigration, humiliation and permanent illegal occupation or accepting the credible risk of imminent physical extermination. While many people in Gaza, after suffering through almost two years of unimaginable horror, might now be willing to accept injustice, denigration, humiliation and permanent illegal occupation in return for the possibility of at least temporary shelter, food ,water and survival, early indications are that the Hamas leadership, however and whenever it may now be constituted and located, will choose to adhere to the motto of the US Marine Corps “Death before Dishonour” knowing that death would in any event be likely to follow dishonour if they were to choose otherwise."

If Hamas does not accept the Plan, Trump has told us that Israel can “finish the job”. We have not yet heard the Hamas response. That response will be difficult as Israel has assassinated so much of its leadership.

But if there is any consolation in this Trump Plan, it will pause the mass industrial killing of Palestinians by the IDF.

The Hamas raid in October 2023 is the Israeli excuse and cover for the genocide. The Hamas attack did not occur in a vacuum. The intent of the Israeli response has been to kill or displace Palestinians from Gaza and to continue the century-long ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their own land.

What are some of the critical issues the Plan does not address?

As signatories to the Geneva Convention, the US, Australia and others have a legal responsibility not only to not commit genocide, but to take action to prevent genocide.

We have not done that.

We have a legal responsibility to protect people in the occupied Palestinian territories. We have not done that.

The Australian Government has supported sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. But it has refused to take any serious sanctions against Israel. White Christians are more valuable than brown Muslims!

Palestinians have a right to self-determination, but in the Plan it is more an aspiration then a reality.

The Plan asserts that Gaza will be deradicalised and terror-free, but what of the greater terrorism by the state of Israel that has been killing and stealing Palestinian land for a century? Israel’s birth was bathed in Palestinian blood.

There is no mention of international law or even the words genocide, apartheid, occupation and ethnic cleansing.

As Dr Rodger Shanahan points out in the Australian Financial Review: “Israel gets pretty well all that it wanted from this proposal. It retains security control and withdraws gradually from areas of Gaza save for a security perimeter presence that remains until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat… Based on Israel’s record in unilaterally occupying parts of Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank for decades, don’t expect the ‘security perimeter’ to be handed over anytime soon.”

But what of Trump, Netanyahu, Starmer, Albanese and others self-righteously asserting that Hamas will have no future in any negotiations?

The banning of Hamas is a fig leaf for those who need to hide their shame of almost two years, turning away from the genocide by all sorts of bogus arguments – blaming Hamas at every turn, asserting that Israel has the right to defend itself, that criticism of Israel is antisemitic. And on and on it goes.

Like it or not, Hamas is a powerful part of Palestinian society, as the IRA was in Northern Ireland and the African National Congress in South Africa. Hamas is far more popular than the stooge Palestinian Authority.

In 1947, Australia recognised the state of Israel. It has taken 75 years for Australia to recognise the state of Palestine whose land has been progressively stolen by Israel. We are complicit in letting Israel do it.

Palestinian statehood is not assured in the Plan. At some future date, it will be determined that a Palestinian Authority and the Plan has been faithfully carried out. Conditions may then finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood. This reflects the arrogance of Westerners in treating Palestinians as children who are incapable of governing their own country.

What are the prospects for Palestinian leadership?

Netanyahu has deliberately tried to sabotage any potential Palestinian Authority or leadership. He claimed repeatedly that there was no credible Palestinian leadership with which to negotiate. The fact is, he did everything possible to ensure that there was no effective Palestinian leadership. Some were imprisoned like Marwan Barghouti.

Netanyahu funded Hamas for more than five years to weaken Fatah and President Mahmoud Abbas. He enabled the transfer of more than US$1 billion to Hamas through Qatar.

Fatah, led by Abbas, is apparently to have a key role in the Trump Plan. But Abbas is reviled by most Palestinians as an Israeli stooge.

A survey by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research in the West Bank and Gaza in May this year revealed that 81% wanted Abbas to resign.

Asked which political party they supported, 32% of Palestinians said they prefer Hamas, followed by 21% who backed Fatah. The remainder supported other groups or did not support any.

Perhaps the most important feature of the poll was the support for Marwan Barghouti who has been a prisoner for more than 20 years. He is among the 8000 Palestinian hostages/prisoners held in Israeli jails. Contrast that with the number of hostages held by Hamas!

In a three-way poll, Barghouti got 54%, Khalid Michelle of Hamas 35% and Abbas 11%. In a two-way poll Barghouti received 58% of the vote compared with Michelle who got 39%.

The release of Barghouti would transform the situation. But the last thing Israel wants is strong Palestinian leadership that Barghouti represents.

Netanyahu breaks negotiated agreements when it suits him. The last ceasefire in March this year lasted only two months before he backed out and, as usual, blamed Hamas.

Netanyahu will find off-ramps to tear up any part of the Plan when it suits. His political survival depends on conceding time and time again to the extremist members of his cabinet

And settler societies like Australia will let him do it.

There is overwhelming world support for the Palestinians. But the leaders in our institutions, media, governments, universities and churches have largely remained silent in this tragedy. They have shamed us all.

The Palestinian people have been the bravest of all. They deserve to live in justice and peace.

For sheer vulgarity and greed look at the ABC report (((LINK PLS))) https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-02/leaked-document-reveals-details-of-trump-peace-plan/105839640 on Trump’s Plan. It includes the following:

“Under the plan, GITA would have a hierarchical structure led by an international board that “exercises supreme strategic and political authority” and a chairman who leads the entire operation as “senior political executive”.

It would also include a body tasked with driving investment projects including infrastructure and “housing schemes”.

A copy of the proposal for GITA, which was labelled “confidential”, was provided to the ABC by a source who requested anonymity.

The document was first published in Israeli media as Mr Trump unveiled his plan and warned that if Hamas did not accept it, Israel would have his blessing to “finish the job”

The proposal was drafted by Tony Blair’s Institute for Global Change.

The proposal suggests a few billionaires who could sit on the board and flags it would include an investment body tasked with generating “real financial returns”.

Critics say the plan sidelines Palestinians while giving power to foreigners who are “motivated by capital interests”.

At least one Palestinian representative would be on the board provided they were “qualified”.

The document did not say what qualifications were needed but did say the Palestinian representative could “potentially” come from the business or security sector.”

And Anthony Albanese boasted to the Australian Financial Review that " Australia played a small but meaningful part in the Plan…no question that Australia played a role in the unwieldy path to peace thrashed out by Trump and Netanyahu"

Once again Palestinians are treated as children.