President Trump is set to lead an international “board of peace” aimed at governing and rebuilding the Gaza Strip. This initiative is part of a 20-point plan unveiled Monday by the White House, which outlines a resolution to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, transitioning towards lasting peace.

In his role as chair, Trump would manage the blueprint and financial backing for the redevelopment of Gaza. This setup would remain until the Palestinian Authority, governing the West Bank, fulfills prerequisites to assume control in the Gaza Strip, during which time Israel’s military would gradually reduce its presence.

“This entity will utilize top international standards to establish contemporary and effective governance that benefits the people of Gaza and attracts investment,” the plan states.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will also be a member of the body, according to the White House proposal.  

Tony Blair has played a significant role in collaboration with the Trump administration and Trump’s son-in-law and previous senior advisor, Jared Kushner, on a post-conflict proposal for Gaza, excluding Hamas governance. The Board of Peace represents the ninth point of the 20-point agenda.

“He’s a soft touch, he’ll be easy to deal with,” Trump said of Blair. He said other names will be announced in the coming days. 

The announcement of the plan came just before President Trump was scheduled to hold a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.

The overall strategy seeks to outline foundational conditions for achieving a viable Palestinian state. However, Netanyahu has opposed the creation of a Palestinian state. It remains unclear if he endorses the rest of the White House’s plan or if it has been communicated to Hamas leaders.

A senior Hamas official, Taher a-Nunu, told Al Araby TV on Monday that the group was not given a copy of the plan nor was it involved in its drafting. 

The 20-point peace plan says that if Hamas refuses to accept the proposal, the plan can go ahead with Israel establishing “terror-free” areas to be handed over from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to a temporary, International Stabilization Force made up of Arab and international partners. 

If Hamas accepts, the plan calls for Hamas to lay down its arms and renounce governance in the strip. Hamas members who commit to peaceful coexistence would be given amnesty to remain in Gaza, or they would be granted safe passage to receiving countries. Hamas will have no role in Gaza’s future governance.

The starting point for the plan, with Hamas’s cooperation, would freeze fighting and have Israel withdraw to agreed upon positions. “Battle lines will remain frozen until conditions are met for the complete staged withdrawal,” the plan states.

Within 72 hours of this agreement, Hamas would release 20 living and the bodies of 28 deceased hostages it kidnapped from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. That attack triggered the wider war, which has led to tens of thousands of deaths in Gaza.

In exchange, Israel will release 250 life sentence Palestinian prisoners, plus 1,700 Gazans who were detained after Oct. 7, 2023, including all women and children detained in that context. 

“For every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel will release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans,” the plan reads. 

Trump said the plan was constructed “after extensive consultation with friends and partners… done with total consideration in working with the nations that we’re talking about, all of these nations made contributions to these suggestions.”

Trump said countries surrounding Israel – like Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar – and other Arab and Muslim countries have expressed support for the deal, citing Pakistan and Indonesia as examples of countries that do not recognize Israel’s existence. 

“The Prime Minister of Pakistan [Shehbaz Sharif] and [Pakistan] Field Marshall [Syed Asim Munir Ahmed Shah] back this 100 percent,” Trump said. 

Trump has focused on securing a ceasefire and hostage release deal as part of his goal to expand the Abraham Accords, in particular to get Saudi Arabia to establish ties with Israel and create a larger alliance countering Iran’s influence in the Middle East.

But Saudi Arabia said an end to the war in Gaza and a credible pathway for a Palestinian State are necessary preconditions for any recognition of Israel. 

A ceasefire and hostage release will allow for the scaling up of humanitarian aid for the besieged Gaza Strip, where international observers have earlier declared famine and critics have criticized Israel as carrying out a genocide.

The plan notably rejects long-term Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip and says that Israel will not annex any territory. Instead, Israel will withdraw from areas when an International Stabilization Force (ISF) can take over. 

“This force will be the long-term internal security solution,” the plan reads. The ISF will work with Israel and Egypt to train new Palestinian police forces. 

The Palestinian Authority must undergo “reforms” laid out in various proposals, including Trump’s 2020 peace plan and recent proposals put forth by Saudi Arabia and France, with Trump endorsing the PA taking over governance of the Gaza Strip if conditions are met. 

The plan says that “no one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return. We will encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza.”

The plan says that if the Palestinian Authority meets reform conditions, such advancement would create a credible pathway to Palestinian statehood, the only explicit recognition of an independent Palestinian state laid out in the plan. Netanyahu has rejected the establishment of a Palestinian state. 

The final point of the plan is that the U.S. will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on “a political horizon for peaceful coexistence.”

The plan also includes economic incentives, building on Trump’s view that the seafront Gaza Strip represents an investment bonanza. He had earlier claimed that the U.S. might own the strip, and Trump put out a video showing the territory transformed into a beachfront vacation destination. 

The plan said that Trump will set up a special economic zone with preferred tariff and access rates to be negotiated with partner countries.

“A Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energize Gaza will be created by convening a panel of experts who have helped birth some of the thriving modern miracle cities in the Middle East,” the plan reads.

“Many thoughtful investment proposals and exciting development ideas have been crafted by well-meaning international groups, and will be considered to synthesize the security and governance frameworks to attract and facilitate these investments that will create jobs, opportunity, and hope for future Gaza,” it states.