IDNtribune, Washington DC – U.S. President Donald Trump has introduced a framework agreement to end the war in Gaza and rebuild the devastated territory. The initiative has gained strong backing, not only from Trump himself, but also from several Arab and Islamic countries including Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Turkey.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly endorsed the plan while standing beside Trump in Washington. However, his support was clouded by controversy, as the document mentions a “pathway to a Palestinian state,” an idea that Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected in public.
Trump emphasized that Hamas has three to four days to respond. “If the answer is no, then the war continues,” Trump said.
Observers noted that the framework closely resembles President Joe Biden’s proposal put forward more than a year ago. That initiative collapsed after Netanyahu, under pressure from right-wing factions in his cabinet, added new demands. Since then, the war has further devastated Gaza, with rising civilian casualties, worsening destruction, famine, and the prolonged suffering of Israeli hostages.
This moment is considered significant because, for the first time, Trump has applied direct pressure on Israel to end the war. The political weight is heightened by recent experiences such as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who faced sharp criticism during a visit to the White House in February.
Before returning to Israel, Netanyahu released a video in Hebrew to clarify his stance on the Palestinian state issue. “No, absolutely not. It is not even written in the agreement. One thing we made clear is that we will firmly resist the establishment of a Palestinian state,” Netanyahu said, adding that Trump agreed with this stance.
Trump’s framework document does contain a vague reference to the possibility of a “pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood” following reforms in the Palestinian Authority, based in Ramallah under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas. However, even this distant prospect remains highly sensitive, particularly for Netanyahu, who has openly and consistently rejected the idea of a Palestinian state existing alongside Israel.
