To no one’s surprise, Hamas signaled this week that it planned to reject President Donald Trump’s proposal for the future of the Gaza Strip, as did the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), which took part in the Oct. 7 attack against Israel and, the BBC reported, has held some Israeli hostages. A spokesman for Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. government even long before Trump came into the picture, told the BBC that the plan “ignores interests of Palestinian people.”

More accurately, it ignores the interests of Hamas, which the plan requires to disarm and effectively disappear. As it should. Otherwise Hamas will be ignoring the interests of the Palestinian people.

For it is impossible to see how the people would be better served by any other eventuality; certainly, not by the U.S. and fellow Arab nations effectively gifting Israel its head and telling them to go ahead and finish their brutal military campaign.

The Trump plan has a lot going for it, and we think it is important for our readers to understand at the outset that it is different from Trump’s prior musings about U.S. control of Gaza or fanciful talk of Trump-branded resorts. This plan is substantive.

Even those who despise Trump in general and are protesting his broader immigration policies should consider this plan, clearly the work of Trump’s capable special envoy Steve Witkoff, on its own terms.

Not every crucial message has an ideal messenger.

Now to the 20-point plan, which clearly states that Gaza is to be redeveloped for the benefit of its people “who have suffered more than enough,” which is the right core goal, the right description of Gaza’s suffering— and maybe even a portal for Hamas to claim victory. The plan also says that, on acceptance by Hamas, the war will immediately end.

As it should. There is no viable argument otherwise.

We’ve said many times before, and we will say here again, that the hostages have to be returned home, whether alive or dead, before anything constructive can happen in Gaza.

We met recently with the new Israeli Consul to the Midwest, Elad Strohmayer, and he emphasized this point. We already understood. We watched videos of the Oct. 7 attacks. We met the families of the hostages. Israel cannot be expected to bend on this issue.

In this plan, though, Israel will “release 250 life sentence prisoners plus 1,700 Gazans who were detained after Oct. 7, 2023, including all women and children detained in that context.” That’s no small concession and, as Strohmayer noted, likely will be painful for many Israelis who have lost loved ones. “For every Israeli hostage whose remains are released,” the plan continues, “Israel will release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans.” The arrival of those remains, great in number, will be painful for the people of Gaza, even if desired.

Moreover, “once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries.”

That gives Hamas militants their exit. This will be painful for many Israelis too.

After detailing the arrival of humanitarian aid, sorely needed, the plan then goes on to say that “Gaza will be governed under the temporary transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for delivering the day-to-day running of public services and municipalities for the people in Gaza.” It mentions former British Prime Minister Tony Blair as a likely manager. A reasonable choice. Economic development (yes, involving Trump’s interests, alas, given that Witkoff knows the egotist for whom he works) will follow in what will become a demilitarized Gaza, newly committed to peaceful co-existence with Israel.

Crucially, the United States then will work with Arab and international partners to develop a temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF) to immediately deploy in Gaza. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority, which Palestinians have told us face to face that they consider too subject to corruption, will undergo structural reforms.

The involvement of countries such as Egypt (which has a border with Gaza), Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the U.A.E. is crucial to the end of the war and the future of Gaza. The plan emphasizes that Israel “will not occupy Gaza,” beyond a presence in a security buffer zone, which history has taught the country it needs.

Then comes the biggest reason of all Hamas should get out of the way: “While Gaza redevelopment advances and when the (Palestinian Authority) reform program is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognize as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.”

Aspiration is not reality — but it is a start. Especially given current circumstances. This aspiration can become reality, but only if the fighting stops.

Strohmayer discussed with us, roughly in accordance with this plan, the importance of what the Israelis see as a process of “deradicalization,” meaning (as he saw it) a genuine effort not to teach kids that Israel is an evil empire with no right to exist, as now is the case, and promote instead a peaceful co-existence with fellow human beings.

This, too, is aspirational. Changing hearts and minds like that will take a long time, given that the very children in question may well have just seen their loved ones bombed into oblivion. This also flies in the face of the ideology we’ve seen on American campuses and held by many on the American left, who are determined to stick to the idea that Israel is an illegitimate colonial occupier of another’s land, however imperfect the analogy. For its part, some in Israel also will have to deradicalize and Israel will have to make its own concessions.

But the world only spins forward, and history teaches us that a plan like this is the only way to end a war.

This is a very good plan and has our endorsement. It’s also the only one on the table.

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