The Trump Peace Plan: Promise, Pause, or Illusion

October 13 stands as a day of global celebration. Jews — and countless decent people of every faith and background — rejoiced in the liberation of the remaining living hostages from the brutal captivity of Hamas. With tears of gratitude, relief, and solemn joy, the world witnesses their return. After two long years of anguish for the families of those taken during the Hamas-led Palestinian Arab assault on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the last of the kidnapped Israelis have finally come home.

The diplomacy between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu was — and remains — legendary. Their unprecedented alignment of purpose, coupled with extraordinary coordination between the IDF and the U.S. military, reshaped the Middle East’s strategic map. Credit is also due to President Trump for ordering the strike that eliminated Qassem Soleimani, moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, and brokering peace between Israel and four Arab nations through the historic Abraham Accords. The IDF’s successes in this war cannot be overstated and will likely be studied by militaries around the globe for years. These achievements laid the groundwork for a new regional order — one in which Israel became not an isolated outpost, but a central partner in Arab stability. (RELATED: Trump in Jerusalem)

Taking nothing away from that progress, we must still confront an enduring truth: peace is only as strong as the honesty of its participants. And in this case, we are still dealing with Hamas.

The Mirage of Acceptance

On Oct. 7, 2023, the world witnessed evil in its purest form. Hamas terrorists stormed into Israel from Gaza, murdering more than 1,200 people — men, women, children, and the elderly — in acts of barbarity. Families were burned alive, women raped, and children mutilated before being executed. Hundreds were dragged into captivity. It was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. (RELATED: Two Years Later, ‘Much of the World No Longer Remembers Oct. 7’)

Nearly two years later, a fragile calm is emerging. Hamas has, in its habitual fashion, accepted Phase I of the Trump Peace Plan — not from conviction but from calculation. A flat rejection would invite annihilation, so it has done what it always does: stall, obfuscate, and concede just enough to survive. This limited “acceptance” is likely a tactical pause meant to appease Washington and buy time, not a step toward reconciliation. (RELATED: Oct. 7: A Dark Anniversary)

Hamas’s acceptance is not an embrace of peace; it’s a maneuver for survival. The group has not agreed to disarm, end its holy war, or recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Its leaders speak not of reconciliation but of “strategic patience,” a euphemism for regrouping. The only logical conclusion from this is that they have not changed their stripes.

Global Relief v. Global Delusion

The Trump Plan’s 20 points are clear, even if logistics are still unfolding. The world, weary of war and desperate for stability, now risks confusing a ceasefire with surrender and the paperwork of peace with actual peace. Nations just weeks ago paralyzed by moral equivocation — Britain, France, Spain, Canada, Australia, and others — now rally behind the plan’s humanitarian first phase, which promises the return of hostages and international oversight in Gaza.

But Phase I was the easy part — symbolic, humanitarian, photogenic. The real test lies ahead. Phases II and III require Hamas to permanently disarm, dismantle its military wing, and forfeit any role in Gaza’s governance. Arab partners must rebuild Gaza while ensuring that the same terrorists who destroyed it cannot bleed back into power under new names or flags. (RELATED: So Let’s Say Israel Agrees to Full Withdrawal and All Hamas’s Demands)

If the international community mistakes this pause for progress — or allows Hamas to spin its survival as “resistance rewarded” — the entire framework will collapse.

The Narrative War

Hamas’s most potent weapon has never been its rockets — it is its narrative: a toxic blend of victimhood, martyrdom, and moral inversion. For decades, Hamas has convinced millions, especially within Western academia and media, that its genocidal campaign is “resistance.” Now, in the aftermath of military defeat, it seeks to weaponize that same narrative to claim that Israel was “forced to negotiate” and that “resistance brought results.” (RELATED: Post-Identity Antisemitism: The New Obsession With Israel)

If this lie takes root, it will embolden radicals from Europe to the United States, convincing them that violence works. Jihadists in the West will be newly inspired, and every antisemitic attack in Paris, London, Toronto, Sydney, or New York — every chant on a Western campus, every Israeli and American flag burned at home and abroad will trace its moral lineage to this illusion of Hamas’s “victory.” It is therefore imperative that the end result of the Trump Peace Plan must include an indisputable decimation of Hamas in the Middle East.

The Gaza Trap

Under the Trump Plan, an Arab-led coalition — Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia — will oversee Gaza’s security and reconstruction. In theory, it is sound. In practice, it could be perilous.

If Hamas or Islamic Jihad fighters provoke violence from Gaza’s ruins, Israel’s ability to respond will be constrained. Any Israeli strike that injures Arab peacekeepers could spark a diplomatic crisis — or worse. To prevent that, the U.S. and its allies must ensure that any Arab presence operates under ironclad terms: full coordination with Israel, zero tolerance for Hamas infiltration, and authority to dismantle terror networks without political interference. Anything less would turn Gaza into a powder keg wrapped in a peace ribbon.

The Hard Part — and the Only Path Forward

The Trump Peace Plan is built on realism: peace through strength, coexistence through accountability. Israel’s acceptance was strategic, not naïve. It understands that only Hamas’s defeat could create the foundation for genuine reconstruction.

Phase I — hostage return and humanitarian relief — is a moral success, but the world must not mistake compassion for closure. The next stages — demilitarization, deradicalization, and reconstruction — will determine whether this is truly peace or merely a pause.

The Palestinian people deserve dignity and self-rule, but that cannot coexist with an ideology rooted in Jew-hatred and jihad. The Arab states stepping into Gaza now bear a historic responsibility: to ensure that Hamas never rules, recruits, or re-arms again.

The United States and Israel must guarantee that outcome — not through speeches or sanctions, but through unwavering enforcement. Phase I ended the fighting; only Hamas’s unconditional surrender — whatever euphemism it chooses — can end the war.

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