Gaza peace talks: The key sticking points

Negotiators from Israel and Hamas are in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for indirect talks on ending the Israel-Gaza war.

This is the closest both sides have come to an agreement since the war began two years ago.

But Donald Trump 20-point peace plan This framework, which Israel partially accepts and Hamas partially accepts, is actually just a few pages long.

And both sides still have major sticking points to resolve.

Trump’s plan states that all remaining hostages will be released within 72 hours after the agreement is reached. It is thought that there are 48 Israeli hostages left in Gaza, 20 of whom are alive.

While Trump said over the weekend that the hostages could be released “very soon,” Netanyahu said the hostages could be released before the end of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot (October 13).

Hamas accepted the hostage “exchange formula” detailed in Trump’s plan, provided certain “field conditions” were met.

But the hostages are the group’s only bargaining chip, and it is unclear whether it will release them before other elements of the deal are completed.

There is almost no trust between the two sides. Just last month, Israel attempted to assassinate Hamas’ negotiating team with an airstrike on Doha; This angered not only Hamas but also Trump and key mediator Qatar.

Members of the same negotiating team headed by Khalil al-Hayya, whose son was killed in the attack, will now meet the Israeli delegation in Egypt a stone’s throw away.

Israel’s stated goal throughout the war was to destroy Hamas. Netanyahu has repeatedly stated that he will not stop until the group is finished.

A key point in Trump’s plan calls for disarming the group. However, Hamas had previously refused to lay down its weapons and said it would do so only when a Palestinian state was established.

He did not mention Hamas disarmament in his response, fueling speculation that he had not changed his position.

Over the weekend, Netanyahu promised: “Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarized – either the easy way or the hard way.”

The plan states that Hamas will have no future role in Gaza and that Gaza will be governed by a temporary interim board of Palestinian technocrats and overseen by a “Peace Board” chaired by Donald Trump and including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Administration of the Strip will eventually be transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Although Netanyahu accepted Trump’s entire 20-point plan, he appeared to push back on his intervention, insisting that the Palestinian Authority would play no role in governing the region, even when he took the podium next to the president last week.

This is one of many points in the plan at which it would be unfavorable for ultra-nationalist factions within Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, many of whom want to retain control of Gaza and rebuild Jewish settlements there.

In Hamas’s response, it was stated that it hoped to take part in Gaza in the future as part of a “united Palestinian movement”. Even if the wording is vague, this would likely be unacceptable to both Trump and the Israelis.

The scope of Israel’s military withdrawal is a fourth point of contention.

The plan states that the Israeli army will withdraw from Gaza “based on standards, milestones and time frames” that all parties must agree on.

A map distributed by the White House showed three proposed phases of Israeli troop withdrawal. In the first phase, approximately 55 percent of Gaza, the second 40 percent and the last 15 percent are left under Israeli control.

This final phase will be a “security perimeter” that will remain “until Gaza is appropriately secured against any reemerging terrorist threat.”

The wording here is vague and does not give a clear timeline for Israel’s complete withdrawal; It is likely that Hamas will also seek clarity on this issue.

In addition, the map shared by the White House does not overlap with the Israeli army’s own maps showing militarized areas, and Gaza’s borders are drawn incorrectly in some places.

For more than a year, the Israeli Prime Minister has been accused of continuing the war in Gaza just to stay in power.

Far-right members of his cabinet threatened to end the coalition government if the war ended before Hamas was destroyed.

Earlier this year, Netanyahu and Trump advocated turning Gaza into a “riviera”; this would include the forced displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

This latest plan is significantly different and could be a tough pill for conservatives who are in full support of the “riviera” idea.

Netanyahu also faces a major corruption case that will continue in full force if the war ends. Some fear that the collapse of the talks would benefit him personally.

But ending the war would also have a political benefit, even if the conditions were not as hoped. Polls now consistently show that about 70% of Israelis want the war to end in exchange for the release of hostages.

Whatever happens, Netanyahu will have to hold elections in 2026.