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US President Donald Trump’s newly announced plan to end the Israeli aggression on Gaza has injected a rare note of cautious hope into one of the darkest chapters of the modern Middle East.

After nearly two years of relentless bombardment, engineered starvation and mass displacement, the people of Gaza are desperate for any pathway out of this nightmare. Trump’s proposal, if fully implemented and enforced, could offer such a path. But its fate ultimately hinges on the same obstacle that has torpedoed countless initiatives before: Benjamin Netanyahu’s failed gamble and Israel’s entrenched defiance of international law.

On paper, the plan appears promising. It calls for an end to hostilities, humanitarian access and a renewed push toward the two-state solution — the only framework that has ever held the potential for a just and lasting peace. Yet, as encouraging as this sounds, the plan lacks what history teaches us is most essential: binding guarantees. Neither Washington nor the international community has put forward concrete mechanisms to compel Israel’s compliance. That omission looms large, particularly in light of Netanyahu’s long record of exploiting peace initiatives as political cover while deepening the Israeli occupation and intensifying violence.

Netanyahu’s reckless wager since Oct. 7, 2023, has been laid bare. He gambled that endless war would silence critics, shield him from corruption charges and achieve the Zionist ambition of depopulating Gaza through terror and despair. He has failed. Gaza still stands, scarred but unbroken. Palestinians remain rooted in their homeland, just as they did in 1948, 2008, 2014 and now in 2025. Instead of victory, Netanyahu has delivered mass death, famine and the collapse of Israel’s moral standing on the global stage.

Trump’s plan could recenter the international agenda on Palestinian statehood and accountability for Israel’s crimes

Hani Hazaimeh

The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is not collateral damage; it is the policy itself. Starving children, bombed hospitals and families buried in rubble are the grim currency of Netanyahu’s survival strategy. This is not defense — it is collective punishment, a crime under international law, and one that the world increasingly recognizes as genocide.

And yet, despite the magnitude of Netanyahu’s crimes, dismissing Trump’s plan outright would be a disservice to those who suffer most. For the women boiling grass to feed their children, for the doctors amputating limbs without anesthesia, for the toddlers dying of malnutrition, even a flawed proposal offers a glimmer of hope. Cautious support, coupled with relentless international pressure, may be the only way to force open the narrowest of windows for relief.

Globally, the tide is shifting. On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and at the Saudi-French-sponsored conference for a two-state solution, momentum is building toward recognition of a Palestinian state. The “moving train” of recognition is gathering speed, leaving Netanyahu increasingly isolated. In this context, Trump’s plan — if harnessed wisely — could accelerate that momentum by recentering the international agenda on Palestinian statehood and accountability for Israel’s crimes.

Netanyahu was wrong. Palestinians endure, Arab outrage is united and the world is watching more closely than ever

Hani Hazaimeh

Let us be clear: Trump’s plan will not succeed if treated as another diplomatic gesture, easily brushed aside by Netanyahu’s evasions. It requires enforcement, monitoring and real consequences for noncompliance. Without such mechanisms, it risks joining the long graveyard of abandoned initiatives. But with sustained global pressure — and with Arab and international actors seizing the moment — it could mark the beginning of the end for Netanyahu’s destructive gamble.

Netanyahu bet everything on three delusions: that Palestinians would surrender, that Arabs would remain paralyzed and that the international community would look away. He was wrong. Palestinians endure, Arab outrage is united and the world is watching more closely than ever. Trump’s plan, however imperfect, offers a chance to transform this reality into political progress.

History may yet record this war not only as Netanyahu’s downfall but also as the moment when the world, pressed by unimaginable human suffering, chose to act. The path forward must begin with a ceasefire, unfettered humanitarian access, prisoner exchanges and a credible framework for Palestinian sovereignty. Trump’s plan could be that framework — if the world finally has the courage to hold Israel accountable.

• Hani Hazaimeh is a senior editor based in Amman. X: @hanihazaimeh