Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1540090
16 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 OCTOBER 2025 NEWS Trump peace plan fails Palestinians, say residents in Malta WHEN US President Donald Trump set out his new peace plan for Gaza on Monday, promising security guarantees for Israel and a demilitarised Palestinian state, many in the international com- munity, including Malta, watched with hope. But for Palestinians in Malta with fam- ily and friends still living through the conflict, the debate is not about Trump's blueprint - it is about survival and about ending a war that has torn through their lives for nearly two years. The plan, announced by Trump on Monday, calls for an immediate cease- fire, the release of 20 living Israeli hos- tages held by Hamas and the remains of over two dozen hostages, in exchange for hundreds of detained Gazans. Malta welcomed the proposal, with Prime Minister Robert Abela calling on "all parties to commit to a just two- state solution that upholds the rights and aspirations of both peoples". Depu- ty Prime Minister Ian Borg echoed this, urging parties to work towards "a just peace based on the two-state solution and international law". However, Ahmed Abu Jame, 21, from Gaza, told MaltaToday that whilst he supports ending the war, any plan must benefit both sides equally. He pointed out that the final version announced in Washington differs significantly from the draft shown to Arab leaders at the UN in New York. "I agree with installing peace and stop- ping war but with a plan that would equally benefit both sides and not biased to one side," Abu Jame said. He explained key details were removed from the original draft, including the specification of 600 aid trucks entering Gaza daily, the number of Palestinian hostages to be released, and the timeline for Israeli forces to withdraw. The announced plan gives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu control over troop withdrawals and aid distribu- tion. Abu Jame warned this could lead to systematic starvation, noting that over a thousand Palestinians have been killed at aid distribution points when Is- rael shut borders and allowed American agencies to control supplies. He also pointed out that the plan en- ables Israeli forces to remain in Rafah, south of Gaza, near the border with Egypt, controlling the Philadelphia Crossing. This, he said, violates the peaceful treaty between Israel and Egypt in the Philadelphi Accord 2006. Netanyahu has accepted the proposal, warning that Israel "will finish the job" if Hamas rejects it. He also stressed his opposition to a Palestinian state, say- ing "it is not written in the agreement", and claimed the deal would allow Israeli forces to remain in Gaza. "No Palestinian leadership was con- sulted during drafting this plan and un- der this announced plan there is no role for a Palestinian leadership for the re- building of Gaza or in devising post-war plan," Abu Jame said. He argued that the debate should not focus solely on Hamas's role in Gaza. "Hamas represents a political movement and a current of thought with which there are points of agreement and dis- agreement. What truly matters is that our governance must be based on Pales- tinian unity, with a government that in- cludes all sectors of society and ensures that arms are placed under the full con- trol of the state." The proposal places Gaza under the supervision of an international body, the Board of Peace, chaired by President Trump and including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Abu Jame noted that Blair was among the politi- cians who laid the foundation for Gaza's 17-year siege in 2006. Future governance would be handled by a temporary "technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee" under the Board of Peace's supervision. The plan states Palestinians will not be forced to leave Gaza but encouraged to stay and "build a better Gaza." Dania, a Palestinian now living in Mal- ta, echoed these concerns. She empha- sised that the plan does not recognise a Palestinian state but merely acknowl- edges statehood as "an aspiration" for Palestinians. She explained that under the propos- al, the Palestinian Authority would on- ly be considered for a leadership role if it drops all cases at the International Criminal Court and changes its school curriculum and media. "A truly elected and people-chosen Palestinian government is the one that should be allowed to rule Gaza. Not a politically appointed or a chosen gov- ernment by the Israeli government or the US administration," Dania said. Both Abu Jame and Dania called for Palestinian leaders to be included di- rectly in negotiations, not just through mediators. They want a permanent ceasefire, unconditional aid distribution through UN agencies, humanitarian corridors, medical evacuations for the critically ill, and an end to settlement expansion in the West Bank. On the two-state solution, which Mal- ta has urged parties to pursue, Dania was blunt: "A two-state solution has long been buried by the acts of the Is- raeli government." She explained Israel now controls more than 78% of historic Palestine, including half the territory allocated by the UN to Palestinians. The West Bank is divided into three areas, with 60% under Israeli administration, where more than 99% is off limits to Palestinians. About 330,000 Israelis live in settlements in this area. Dania pointed to recent developments that undermine hope for two states. In July 2025, the Israeli Knesset approved a motion to annex the occupied West Bank, claiming it is "an inseparable part of the Land of Israel." "Israeli leaders never accepted the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel," she said, noting that Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who signed the Oslo Accords, was assassinat- ed shortly after. The plan calls for unilateral Palestin- ian demilitarisation whilst Israel main- tains its military superiority and nuclear weapons. It does not prevent settlement expansion in the West Bank nor guaran- tee full protection or independence for Palestinians. The proposal has been welcomed by foreign ministers of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan, who praised Trump's "leadership and sincere ef- forts to end the war in Gaza." Europe- an Council President Antonio Costa expressed hope and urged all parties to "seize this moment." The Palestinian Authority called Trump's efforts "sincere and deter- mined", whilst UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the plan "could rep- resent a turning point". Abu Jame stressed that any genuine peace must begin with implementing ex- isting UN resolutions and international agreements on the two-state solution, establishing an independent Palestinian state on the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem as its capital. "Every day that passes without an im- mediate ceasefire deepens the humani- tarian catastrophe and undermines the very foundations of peace," he conclud- ed. JULIANA ZAMMIT jzammit@mediatoday.com.mt Pro-Palestine demonstration in 2023