Gaza Ceasefire and Trump’s ‘Crazy’ Proposal

Jia Han
Feb 13
5 min read

I was writing the first part (ceasefire) but did not finish because I was too busy. After Trump’s Gaza proposal, I should write a short one to help the readers understand the development. The earlier one on ceasefire is still relevant and gives part of the background. So I use it as the first part.

Gaza Cease-Fire

On the first response to the news of the Gaza Cease-fire, most would welcome it. After so many deaths and damage, peace would be a great relief. However, if one looks closely the agreement has several problems.

Two references help to understand the situation in the Middle East, especially Daniel Pipes’ article: ‘VICTORY’ SETS UP HAMAS’ NEXT WAR [1,2]. The title says it all. (If my memory is correct, Daniel Pipes was the same author who helped me to understand Islam. Bernard Lewis’ books were the main source but Daniel Pipes’ articles were also useful.) [1] begins with an explanation that Israel’s two goals of this war were contradictory: destroy the Hamas organisation and make a deal with it. If you are interested in the details of the war and negotiations, you may spend time on it. Near the end, it explains how the ceasefire was reached: A report in Ha’aretz tells how Witcoff compelled Netanyahu to break the Sabbath for a meeting in which he was forced “to accept a plan that (he) had repeatedly rejected over the past half year”. Clearly, Donald Trump was the difference to reach the ceasefire.

What concerns me is that Hamas, a terrorist organization, regards the ceasefire agreement as a victory. News reports of their parade, etc. seem to confirm that. ……. The war restart is very likely, e.g. [3].

Trump’s ‘Crazy’ Proposal

To understand Trump’s ‘crazy’ proposal better, you should know the history of Gaza [4]. There have been countless proposals. Daniel Pipes has conjectured several [5]. But none is likely to work. Then, Donald Trump proposed his ‘crazy’ Gaza plan. If measured by the comments of most experts, it is a non-starter. One example is Richard Haass on CNN GPS [6]. Richard Haass was a highly respected diplomat. But I am disappointed by his comments: nothing new. There are several other comments [7,8]. Alexander Downer’s commentary on The Australian is the best [9]. Alexander Downer was Australia’s former long-serving foreign minister.

Here are some passages of [9].

…..

The objective of Hamas and its backer, Iran, was diplomatic. Of course they knew Israel would retaliate if they declared war on Israel. Of course they knew if they kept fighting in Gaza the damage and the casualties would grow. They didn’t care because their objective wasn’t to save lives or to offer the Palestinian people a bright future. It was to win an international propaganda war.

The Iranians and their proxies did pretty well for a while. Feckless and thoughtless governments started calling for Israel to desist from attacking Hamas and Hezbollah – including our own Australian government, incredibly – and resolutions were passed by the UN General Assembly condemning Israel. The UN secretary-general – arguably the weakest and most clueless the UN has had – and leading UN officials increasingly condemned Israel. Hamas brilliantly manipulated the Western media. Breathless Western journalists mainly ensconced in the safety of Jerusalem endlessly repeated Hamas propaganda about casualties and food supplies. No sceptical forensic analysis of Hamas’s claims, just acceptance of its propaganda on face value.

….

So this was the objective. Not to destroy Israel in one blow but to build an international coalition that would demand not just a two-state solution but ultimately the one-state solution that is the ambition of Iran and its proxies.

Of course the Israelis knew all this. That’s why they were oblivious to continued screeching from Western politicians, international organisations and an unquestioning legacy media.

….

The Israeli campaign has been a triumph. If the Palestinians had wanted peace and to avoid casualties, they onlyhad to put up their hands and ask for it. But they didn’t; they kept firing rocket-propelled grenades, rockets, missiles and antitank weapons at the Israelis. The result was obvious.

So that brings us to the here and now. What to do next? Well, mindless rhetoric from thoughtless political populists continues to demand Israel agree to a two-state solution. Of course that would be fine if it were at all possible. It’s not as though it hasn’t been tried time and again since 1948.

(1948 the UN proposed a two-states solution. It has been tried several times since then. The problem is the Palestinians (this term is wrong. See history.) have never agreed to allow Israel to exist. For most Jews the two-states solution is dead. Who wants a terrorist state as your neighbor? International media and many politicians keep saying it because it is easier than finding a solution.)

In 2000 the Palestinians were offered by the Israelis and the Americans 96 per cent of the West Bank, all of Gaza and their capital in East Jerusalem. They just walked away from the negotiations.

There have been endless negotiations, wars, eruptions of conflict, intifadas and so on since then. And every time there is a crisis it’s followed by peace talks and everyone settles back comfortably into a status quo that for the Palestinians is one of endless grievance and outrage. So, after a while, war erupts again.

I’m just wondering how stupid we have to be to think we should keep going through this cycle. It is time to think of completely new ideas. And, to his credit, that is where Donald Trump has landed.

…..

I’ve seen it with my own eyes when I visited Gaza. For what it’s worth, if I were a foreign minister today, we wouldn’t give one cent to UNRWA. The EU also needs to keep right out of Middle East peace negotiations. And so do the Russians and the Chinese.

This is a great inflection point in the history of the Middle East. This could be the moment when a genuine and lasting peace plan emerges. But calming down the Palestinians and getting them to accept that the Israelis should be allowed to live in peace is a big ask.

….

I encourage you to read the whole article. It is excellent. Most ME nations said that Israel could not move its capital to Jerusalem. But according to the Bible, this should be done. Trump 1.0 agreed and it was done. Nothing bad has happened. Gaza has a complicated history [4]. No one knows what will happen. It is good to try.

References:

[1] Daniel Pipes ‘VICTORY’ SETS UP HAMAS’ NEXT WAR - Australian, 1-18, 2025 p21

[2] Sen. Ted Cruz on TikTok, China, the Ceasefire Deal, and Much More (1-20)

[3] Chance of return to ‘hostilities’ inside Gaza is ‘quite real’: Gen. Jack Keane (2-11)

[4] Gaza in Jewish History (10-2023)

[5] DANIEL PIPES, Gaza failure: war unlikely to end Hamas’ reign - Australian 2-1, 2025 - p22

[6] On GPS: Trump’s Gaza strategy ‘probably plays into Hamas’ hands’ | CNN

[7] Trump handling Gaza brilliantly: Huckabee | On Balance (2-11)

[8] ‘They certainly break the paradigm’: Douglas Murray reacts to Trump’s bold Gaza plans (2-7)

[9] Alexander Downer, Trump’s on the right track with Gaza plan 2-10, 2025 | Australian, P11

Others:

[1] Jordan's King Abdullah Asked: 'Do You Want To See The U.S. Own The Gaza Strip?' (2-12)