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Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan as released by White House

Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan as released by White House
President Donald Trump looks on as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers remarks during a joint news conference at the White House on Monday. (AFP)
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Updated 29 September 2025

Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan as released by White House

Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan as released by White House
  • ‘Gaza will be governed under the temporary transitional governance of a technocratic’
  • ‘No one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return’
  • ‘Once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty’
  • Trump will head and chair the “Board of Peace,” alongside former British prime minister Tony Blair, which will oversee the work of the Gaza transitional administration

WASHINGTON: After days of speculation, the White House on Monday released a 20-point plan for ending the nearly two-year war in Gaza, releasing hostages held by Hamas, and outlining the Palestinian territory’s future.
Speaking alongside President Donald Trump at the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave cautious backing to the plan.

Here is the plan, as released by the White House:

1. Gaza will be a deradicalized terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors.
2. Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who have suffered more than enough.
3. If both sides agree to this proposal, the war will immediately end. Israeli forces will withdraw to the agreed upon line to prepare for a hostage release. During this time, all military operations, including aerial and artillery bombardment, will be suspended, and battle lines will remain frozen until conditions are met for the complete staged withdrawal.
4. Within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned.
5. Once all hostages are released, Israel will release 250 life sentence prisoners plus 1,700 Gazans who were detained after October 7th 2023, including all women and children detained in that context. For every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel will release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans.
6. 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.
7. Upon acceptance of this agreement, full aid will be immediately sent into the Gaza Strip. At a minimum, aid quantities will be consistent with what was included in the January 19, 2025, agreement regarding humanitarian aid, including rehabilitation of infrastructure (water, electricity, sewage), rehabilitation of hospitals and bakeries, and entry of necessary equipment to remove rubble and open roads.




Displaced Palestinian children wave Palestinian national flags as they stand on the rubble of a destroyed building at the Bureij camp for refugees. (AFP)

8. Entry of distribution and aid in the Gaza Strip will proceed without interference from the two parties through the United Nations and its agencies, and the Red Crescent, in addition to other international institutions not associated in any manner with either party. Opening the Rafah crossing in both directions will be subject to the same mechanism implemented under the January 19, 2025 agreement.
9. 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. This committee will be made up of qualified Palestinians and international experts, with oversight and supervision by a new international transitional body, the “Board of Peace,” which will be headed and chaired by President Donald J. Trump, with other members and heads of State to be announced, including Former Prime Minister Tony Blair. This body will set the framework and handle the funding for the redevelopment of Gaza until such time as the Palestinian Authority has completed its reform program, as outlined in various proposals, including President Trump’s peace plan in 2020 and the Saudi-French proposal, and can securely and effectively take back control of Gaza. This body will call on best international standards to create modern and efficient governance that serves the people of Gaza and is conducive to attracting investment.
10. A Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energize Gaza will be created by convening a panel of experts who have helped birth some of the thriving modern miracle cities in the Middle East. Many thoughtful investment proposals and exciting development ideas have been crafted by well-meaning international groups, and will be considered to synthesize the security and governance frameworks to attract and facilitate these investments that will create jobs, opportunity, and hope for future Gaza.
11. A special economic zone will be established with preferred tariff and access rates to be negotiated with participating countries.
12. No one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return. We will encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza.

13. Hamas and other factions agree to not have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly, indirectly, or in any form. All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt. There will be a process of demilitarization of Gaza under the supervision of independent monitors, which will include placing weapons permanently beyond use through an agreed process of decommissioning, and supported by an internationally funded buy back and reintegration program all verified by the independent monitors. New Gaza will be fully committed to building a prosperous economy and to peaceful coexistence with their neighbors.




A demonstrator reacts during an anti-government protest organised in Tel Aviv calling for a ceasefire and for action to secure the hostages’ release, Sept. 27, 2025. (AFP)

14. A guarantee will be provided by regional partners to ensure that Hamas, and the factions, comply with their obligations and that New Gaza poses no threat to its neighbors or its people.
15. The United States will work with Arab and international partners to develop a temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF) to immediately deploy in Gaza. The ISF will train and provide support to vetted Palestinian police forces in Gaza, and will consult with Jordan and Egypt who have extensive experience in this field. This force will be the long-term internal security solution. The ISF will work with Israel and Egypt to help secure border areas, along with newly trained Palestinian police forces. It is critical to prevent munitions from entering Gaza and to facilitate the rapid and secure flow of goods to rebuild and revitalize Gaza. A deconfliction mechanism will be agreed upon by the parties.
16. Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza. As the ISF establishes control and stability, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will withdraw based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarization that will be agreed upon between the IDF, ISF, the guarantors, and the Unites States, with the objective of a secure Gaza that no longer poses a threat to Israel, Egypt, or its citizens. Practically, the IDF will progressively hand over the Gaza territory it occupies to the ISF according to an agreement they will make with the transitional authority until they are withdrawn completely from Gaza, save for a security perimeter presence that will remain until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat.
17. In the event Hamas delays or rejects this proposal, the above, including the scaled-up aid operation, will proceed in the terror-free areas handed over from the IDF to the ISF.
18. An interfaith dialogue process will be established based on the values of tolerance and peaceful co-existence to try and change mindsets and narratives of Palestinians and Israelis by emphasizing the benefits that can be derived from peace.
19. While Gaza re-development advances and when the PA 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.
20. The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous co-existence.


Trump administration seeks to make Harvard ineligible for federal funding

Trump administration seeks to make Harvard ineligible for federal funding
Updated 20 sec ago

Trump administration seeks to make Harvard ineligible for federal funding

Trump administration seeks to make Harvard ineligible for federal funding
  • HHS refers Harvard for potential federal funding ineligibility
  • Harvard accused of failing to address discrimination against Jewish students

BOSTON: US President Donald Trump’s administration expanded its campaign against Harvard University on Monday as the Department of Health and Human Services said it would start a process that could lead to the school becoming ineligible for federal funding. HHS’ Office for Civil Rights said it had referred Harvard to the office within the department responsible for administrative suspension and debarment proceedings, a move that opened the door to the Ivy League school being barred from entering into contracts with all government agencies or receiving federal funding.
Its announcement came after the Office for Civil Rights in July referred the school to the US Department of Justice to address allegations it failed to address discrimination and harassment against Jewish and Israeli students on its campus.
Paula Stannard, the director of the Office for Civil Rights, said her office had notified Harvard of its right to a formal administrative hearing, where an administrative law judge would determine whether it violated the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It has 20 days to seek a hearing. “OCR’s referral of Harvard for formal administrative proceedings reflects OCR’s commitment to safeguard both taxpayer investments and the broader public interest,” Stannard said in a statement.
Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Harvard did not respond to requests for comment. The university has said it aims to combat discrimination.
Trump’s administration has launched a campaign to leverage federal funding to force change at Harvard and other universities, which the president says are gripped by antisemitic and “radical left” ideologies. Harvard has sued over some of those actions, leading a judge to rule earlier this month that the administration had unlawfully terminated more than $2 billion in research grants awarded to the school.
US District Judge Allison Burroughs in her ruling said that the Trump administration “used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically motivated assault on this country’s premier universities.”
The administration has been seeking a settlement with Harvard. Trump during a recent cabinet meeting said the university should pay “nothing less than $500 million” as it had “been very bad.” The administration says universities allowed displays of antisemitism during pro-Palestinian protests. Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say their criticism of Israel’s assault on Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories should not be characterized as antisemitism and their advocacy for Palestinian rights should not be equated with extremism.


Judge suspends Trump administration’s plan to eliminate hundreds of Voice of America jobs

Judge suspends Trump administration’s plan to eliminate hundreds of Voice of America jobs
Updated 26 sec ago

Judge suspends Trump administration’s plan to eliminate hundreds of Voice of America jobs

Judge suspends Trump administration’s plan to eliminate hundreds of Voice of America jobs

WASHINGTON: A federal judge agreed Monday to temporarily suspend the Trump administration’s plan to eliminate hundreds of jobs at the agency that oversees Voice of America, the government-funded broadcaster founded to counter Nazi propaganda during World War II.
US District Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington, D.C., ruled that the US Agency for Global Media cannot implement a reduction in force eliminating 532 jobs for full-time government employees on Tuesday. Those employees represent the vast majority of its remaining staff.
Kari Lake, the agency’s acting CEO, announced in late August that the job cuts would take effect Tuesday. But the judge’s ruling preserves the status quo at the agency until he rules on a plaintiffs’ underlying motion to block the reduction in force.
Lamberth previously ruled that President Donald Trump’s Republican administration must restore VOA programming to levels commensurate with its statutory mandate to “serve as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news.” He also blocked Lake from removing Michael Abramowitz as VOA’s director.


YouTube to pay $22 million in settlement with Trump

YouTube to pay $22 million in settlement with Trump
Updated 4 min 34 sec ago

YouTube to pay $22 million in settlement with Trump

YouTube to pay $22 million in settlement with Trump
  • The settlement will go toward Trump’s latest construction project at the White House

NEW YORK: YouTube has agreed to pay $22 million to settle a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump after it suspended his account over the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, according to a court document released Monday.
The online video platform, a Google subsidiary, is the latest Big Tech firm to settle with Trump after he went to court in July 2021 over his suspension.
Major platforms removed Trump at the time due to concerns he would promote further violence with bogus claims that voter fraud caused his loss to former president Joe Biden in 2020.
The 79-year-old Republican took social media companies and YouTube to court, claiming he was wrongfully censored.
The settlement will go toward Trump’s latest construction project at the White House, through a nonprofit called Trust for the National Mall, which is “dedicated to restoring, preserving, and elevating the National Mall, to support the construction of the White House State Ballroom,” per the filing.
Trump’s posting privileges were curbed after more than 140 police officers were injured in hours of clashes with pro-Trump rioters wielding flagpoles, baseball bats, hockey sticks and other makeshift weapons, along with Tasers and canisters of bear spray.
In February, Elon Musk’s X settled for about $10 million, in a lawsuit against the company and its former chief executive Jack Dorsey.
In January, days after Trump’s inauguration, Meta agreed to pay $25 million to settle the 79-year-old Republican’s complaint, with $22 million of the payment going toward funding Trump’s future presidential library.
Parent company Alphabet reported the online video platform’s ad sales alone accounted for more than $36 billion in revenue in 2024, per its 2025 annual report filed to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.


Airlines warn US government shutdown may slow flights

Airlines warn US government shutdown may slow flights
Updated 18 min 17 sec ago

Airlines warn US government shutdown may slow flights

Airlines warn US government shutdown may slow flights
  • Air traffic controllers and about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration employees who staff airport checkpoints are among the government workers who would be required to keep working but would not be paid

WASHINGTON: US airlines warned on Monday that a partial federal government shutdown could strain American aviation and slow flights, as air traffic controllers and security officers would be forced to work without pay and other functions would be halted.
Airline trade group Airlines for America, which represents United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and others, warned that if funding lapses, “the system may need to slow down, reducing efficiency” and impacting travelers.
The warning about air travel highlights the latest potential collateral damage from the political dispute in Washington over government funding.
“When federal employees who manage air traffic, inspect aircraft and secure our nation’s aviation system are furloughed or working without pay, the entire industry and millions of Americans feel the strain,” the group said.
Air traffic controllers and about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration employees who staff airport checkpoints are among the government workers who would be required to keep working but would not be paid.
In 2019, during a 35-day shutdown, the number of absences by controllers and TSA officers rose as workers missed paychecks, extending checkpoint wait times at some airports. The Federal Aviation Administration was forced to slow air traffic in New York, which put pressure on lawmakers to quickly end the standoff.
The shutdown is expected to begin on Wednesday unless there is an agreement between the Democrats and Republicans on a government funding bill. Congressional Democratic leaders left a meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday without reaching a deal.
In a separate letter, airline groups, aviation unions, manufacturers, airports and other aviation groups warned shutdowns force the FAA to “suspend air traffic controller and technician hiring and training, delay the implementation of safety initiatives, postpone maintenance and repair work to critical air traffic equipment, suspend air carrier pilot check rides, delay airworthy inspections for aircraft, defer the analysis of voluntary safety reporting, and suspend work on modernization programs.”
An extensive shutdown could delay the FAA’s certification of the Boeing 737 MAX 7 and slow the $12.5 billion overhaul of air traffic control.
The FAA said that under its shutdown plan released in March it would not be able to conduct air traffic controller hiring or field training of air traffic controllers.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Friday he was concerned a shutdown could jeopardize air traffic training and the modernization effort.
Hundreds of air traffic control trainees at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City could also be furloughed “causing significant delays in the training pipeline and worsen the ongoing air traffic controller staffing crisis,” the National Air Traffic Controllers Association said, adding “a government shutdown of any length could cause significant setbacks.”
The FAA is about 3,800 controllers short of targeted staffing levels. A persistent shortage of controllers has delayed flights and many are working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks.


UK govt under pressure as Labour members vote to recognize Gaza genocide

UK govt under pressure as Labour members vote to recognize Gaza genocide
Updated 29 September 2025

UK govt under pressure as Labour members vote to recognize Gaza genocide

UK govt under pressure as Labour members vote to recognize Gaza genocide
  • Motion passed at party conference weeks after UN report said Israel committing genocide
  • London urged to ‘ban trade with illegal settlements’ and apply ‘comprehensive sanctions,’ including arms embargo

LONDON: The UK government is under pressure to accept that genocide is taking place in Gaza after members of the ruling Labour Party voted to approve an emergency motion at its conference in Liverpool.

It comes two weeks after a UN report said there are sufficient grounds to conclude that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, and in the wake of the UK decision to recognize Palestine.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has consistently said it is up to international courts to decide if genocide is taking place.

A case brought by South Africa against Israel is being heard by the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

In the conference motion, passed by a show of hands, delegates called on the UK government to “ban trade with illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank” and apply “comprehensive sanctions,” including an arms embargo. 

The general secretary of the Unison union, Christina McAnea, said: “This is genocide. But if we wait for this to be confirmed by a court, it will be too late, because it’s already happening as we sit here.”

A separate motion titled “Peace in the Middle East” — which urged the government to “fully suspend arms trade with Israel that could be used in the conflict” and “do everything in its power to secure an immediate ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli military forces from Gaza and the unrestricted provision of humanitarian assistance” — was not passed.

The government’s position was reiterated following the conference motion vote by Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy.

He said adhering to “the rules-based order” means “it must be for the ICJ with their judges and judiciary, and for the (International Criminal Court), to determine the issue of genocide in relation to the convention. It isn’t for politicians like me to do that.”

He added, though, that “it’s for the public to look at what they see and come to their own judgments,” and that in his previous role as foreign secretary, “I did see a clear risk that Israel was breaching international humanitarian law.”

Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said: “This is a huge defeat for the government, with the Labour Party finally accepting that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

“This historic vote must now become government policy: imposing comprehensive sanctions on Israel and a full arms embargo.

“After almost two years of complicity in Israel’s genocide, the movement in solidarity with Palestine is turning the tide.

“People across this country are standing side by side with the Palestinian people demanding their liberation.

“If the government tries to ignore this momentous vote, it would not only be in denial of the facts, against public opinion, increasingly globally isolated, but also at war with its own party.”

The co-deputy leader of the Green Party, Mothin Ali, said: “Keir Starmer and his ministers must not waste another second in calling out this act of genocide, end immediately the supply of all arms to Israel and impose strict sanctions on the country.

“It is clear from today’s motion, passed by a majority of Labour members, that the conference would be the right time and place to do this.”

A report by the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory said four of five genocidal acts defined in international law have taken place in Gaza since October 2023: killing members of a group, causing serious mental and bodily harm, deliberately inflicting conditions to destroy the group, and preventing births.

After the report’s release, the UK government said it “has not concluded that Israel is acting with that (genocidal) intent.”