Trump’s plan for ‘New Gaza’: Is there a red line?

By Hassan Asfour

The last 24 hours, after Hamas announced its acceptance of Trump’s plan, became a theatrical display of talk about “victories” among the three belligerent parties — and the lone loser was the Palestinian people, especially in the Gaza Strip, as they bear the price to be paid.

President Trump continued the spectacle with remarks that reveal new dimensions requiring reflection, particularly his motives that guided the decision, and Turkey’s specific role in extracting a decision from the Muslim Brotherhood movement Hamas. Their acceptance was not a “brilliant political insight,” as some of the group’s supporters tried to portray it in a uniform narrative released simultaneously after the statement; rather it came under direct Turkish pressure from Erdoğan, earning Trump “exceptional praise” that was not extended to other leaders previously involved, including Qatar and Egypt.

Trump’s map outlining withdrawal lines from the Gaza Strip reopens questions some have been avoiding, especially since he said the plan had been discussed previously with Netanyahu’s government and approved by it. That undermines a piece of media promotion that claimed his decision ran counter to the wishes of the head of the Israeli government — a marketing attempt to frame the “new subjugation” plan as if it were a national liberation scheme — and Trump affirmed that Hamas knew of it and seemingly was part of the negotiation, so it was neither secret nor a surprise to them.

Trump’s map of withdrawal lines confirms that it is a “withdrawal inside the Gaza Strip,” not from the Gaza Strip, and there is a big difference between the two. The Israeli government said it informed the United States that its forces would remain in specific areas inside the Strip for years to come: the buffer zone surrounding the Strip, the Philadelphi–Salah al-Din axis on the Egyptian border, and Hill 70 (known as Hill al-Mintar).

The map, together with what might be called Israeli “qualifications,” confirms that the withdrawal will not be as “smooth” as its promoters claim. It brings back the core debate over the day after Gaza’s war, according to non-national objectives, and it effectively cements the separation of the Strip from the West Bank for years. The occupation will not end with the start of reconstruction, especially in pivotal areas — specifically what has become known as the “buffer zone” east of the Strip’s perimeter fence, Hill al-Mintar as a key movement node, and the Philadelphi axis.

Trump’s map, which revealed the withdrawal lines and mechanism, did not specify which forces would be responsible for security and running humanitarian life in Gaza after Israeli forces leave those areas. Will Hamas return to what it was before, or is there another party agreed upon to assume a temporary administration and security responsibility for those areas — for whom and how?

Was there an agreement to fill the “security-administrative vacuum” if Israel committed to withdraw, or was this left to negotiation, which could delay the execution of the withdrawal? What would the scene be if Hamas released hostages before an agreement on the withdrawal mechanism is reached — would the movement announce a retreat from what it accepted, or would it continue in hopes of a different promise? Does it have the capacity to refuse continued negotiations after Trump exposed the political reality, showing that its acceptance was under duress rather than in the Palestinian interest?

Trump’s map opens all the gates of political hell after Hamas accepted the U.S. plan for a “new” Gaza without a real guarantee — which could and should have been part of the “implementation mechanism.”

Note: British Jews are very alert against a Likud minister — the man hosted someone named Robinson from the fascists simply because he is anti-Muslim. They said it was not anyone else; this person is a bully and represents the worst in Britain. So this is not a case of anti-Semitism; it’s a fascist allied with a fascist against those who are not fascists. Got it?

Special note: It’s true the Hamas negotiating delegation will be mixed with a few members of the “fleet of factions that peddle the lie of victory” — or will it be free of them so it can take its time with the bargaining? It does not need the headache of endless talk. Give them a meal at a hotel and a cheek kiss and everything will be fine — cheapness has become a trait of some. Pure cheapness.