Trump Urges Netanyahu to Advance Gaza Peace Plan After Israeli Election

President Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Thursday phone call that he wants him to take steps to implement his Gaza peace plan, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. The roadmap calls for disarming Hamas and demilitarizing Gaza, as well as transferring responsibility for governing the enclave to a new Palestinian technocratic government.

The plan has been on hold for months because of Israeli elections held on October 27. The Trump administration did not want implementation of the plan to become a politically explosive issue during the Israeli election campaign. Trump endorsed Netanyahu shortly before the election.

“Netanyahu remains extremely skeptical that Hamas will ever demilitarize.”

Now that the election is over, the president wants to forge ahead with his Gaza plan, regardless of whether Netanyahu or his opposition forms a new government. A year ago, Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of Trump's 20-point plan, which led to a ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of the last 20 living hostages taken during the October 7, 2023 attacks.

Trump's Board of Peace, established as part of the Gaza agreement, has been working for months on an implementation plan that includes establishing a Palestinian technocratic government and an International Stabilization Force. Last July, the Board of Peace reached an agreement with Hamas on a 15-point plan to disarm armed groups in Gaza and transfer civilian and security control to the new Palestinian technocratic government.

Since then, Netanyahu's government has largely refused to move forward with implementing it, mostly for domestic political reasons. In an August visit to Israel, Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner told Netanyahu that Hamas had agreed to disarm for the first time and urged him to test whether that commitment was real. Netanyahu remains extremely skeptical that Hamas will ever demilitarize, saying the group is reconstituting and rearming in Gaza.

Over the past three months, Trump's Board of Peace has been working with the Israeli government and military to refine details of the plan and address Israeli concerns.