Countless governments from Europe and the Muslim-majority world have welcomed Trump’s ‘peace plan’ to end Israel’s war on Gaza.
Leaders from all across Europe and the Middle East have expressed their support for Trump’s Gaza “peace plan” following the announcement on Monday at the White House.
The vocal support for the plan has come as a final collective push to put an end to Israel’s genocidal war in the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 66,000 Palestinians since October7, 2023.
A joint statement was released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia on behalf of the Muslim and Arab countries of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, UAE, Pakistan, Turkiye, Indonesia, Qatar, and Egypt.
The Foreign Ministers of the Muslim and Arab nations welcomed US President Donald Trump’s plan and his “sincere efforts to end the war in Gaza”.
They asserted their “confidence” in Trump’s ability to find a viable path to peace.
The statement reaffirmed some of the most important aims of Trump’s 20-point plan, including “full Israeli withdrawal”, “rebuilding Gaza”, and a viable two-state solution “under which Gaza is fully integrated with the West Bank in a Palestinian state in accordance with international law”.
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Lebanon and the Gulf Arab Bloc
The Bahraini Foreign Ministry called the plan “a positive initiative to achieve security and peace in the Middle East” in a statement.
Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry also expressed positive opinions for the efforts to “end the suffering of the brotherly Palestinian people” in a bid to establish peace.
They urged Trump to deliver humanitarian aid immediately, and establish a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun also expressed his willingness to “work together for a stable and prosperous Middle East”.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes the countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, also praised the efforts to end the “humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza”.
European leaders
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that the US initiative is “profoundly welcome”.
The European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen said on X that “President Trump’s Gaza plan offers the best immediate chance to end the war”, and that “the EU is ready to help it succeed”.
European Council President Antonio Costa also welcomed Trump’s initiative, urging all parties to give peace a “genuine chance.” French President Emmanuel Macron similarly expressed his readiness to contribute to building lasting peace in the region.
The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also promised to volunteer political and financial support for the plan. “If an agreement is reached, Germany stands ready to contribute to the implementation of the plan. This includes political backing, humanitarian support, and the reconstruction of the region,” Merz said.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was also part of a wave of European leaders who expressed Italy’s readiness to aid the initiative for the “stabilisation, reconstruction, and development of the Gaza Strip.”
“The two-state solution, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, is the only possible one,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also said on X.
Other leaders such as Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot, the Swiss Foreign Ministry, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, among others, vowed to support the initiative for a viable two-state solution.
A message to Palestinians
Trump also had a message for Palestinians at the White House press conference yesterday, stating that the “ball was in their court”.
“I challenge the Palestinians to take responsibility for their destiny, because that’s what we’re giving them. We’re giving them responsibility for their destiny, [to] fully condemn and prohibit terrorism and earn their way to a brighter future. They don’t want the life that they’ve had. They’ve had a rough life with Hamas,” he said.
Despite this, major doubts have arisen from countless political analysts over the terms of the plan, such as questions about how Gaza will be governed, how the Palestinian Authority will be involved, and when Israel will withdraw, among other concerns.
Whilst Hamas is yet to respond, the second largest faction in Gaza, “Palestinian Islamic Jihad” (PIJ), said the plan was “a recipe for igniting [conflict in] the region” and a bid to push Israel’s aims which it was “not able to achieve in the war”.
As it stands, 66,012 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza, and 168,162 wounded since October 2023.
Today alone, Israel has killed at least 37 Palestinians as Hamas reviews the plan.
The pressure is now on Hamas after western and Arab/Muslim governments have loudly expressed their readiness to start rebuilding a post-war Gaza without the current ruling faction.
