- The Guardian
- Issue #2165
Boorloo/Perth rallies for Palestine in commemoration of the 77th anniversary of the Nakba, Saturday 17 May 2025.
As this edition goes to press, the world is learning about US President Trump’s 20-point ‘peace plan.’ Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman has confirmed that Hamas’ negotiating team is studying the plan, which was agreed to by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. At the same time, Al Jazeera reports that Israeli forces have ramped up attacks on the Gaza strip, killing at least 45 people on the day the plan was announced.
The plan is vague on many elements. It leaves Israeli military forces around Gaza, and proposes an international ‘stabilisation’ force for Gaza, without saying how the force would work or what that force would be made up of.
Trump said that he would give Hamas three to four days to agree to the plan, and made a warning that if they did not agree, he would give Israel permission to “go and do what they have to do.”
Palestinians interviewed about the plan said that they remembered former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair’s role in the Iraq invasion. Trump has said that Blair would have a role in a future “technocratic” government of Gaza. One Palestinian told the BBC that the plan was “a new colonialism.”
A more substantial report will be published in next week’s Guardian.
