The plans unveiled by President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu are nothing more than a cynical and opportunistic power grab to facilitate the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and carve up Palestinian land in order to hand it over to vulturistic property developers and other vested interests hellbent on squeezing profits from genocide.

Trump and Netanyahu's plan is a direct assault on the sovereignty of the Palestinian people, particularly those who have been under siege for the past 2 years as part of Israel's genocidal attack on the people of Gaza. With more than 60,000 Palestinians slaughtered in Gaza since October 2023, this proposal deliberately ignores the unacceptable suffering endured by the people of Palestine at the hands of Israel and leaves the door wide open to further abuses and decimation of the Palestinian identity.

Further insult is the installation of the likes of former British prime minister Tony Blair to oversee the processes mentioned in the plan. The suggestion that the likes of Tony Blair have a seat at the table in deciding Gaza's future is breathtakingly ignorant. Blair's catastrophic decision to invade Iraq cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians and has caused decades of instability throughout much of the Middle East. He should be absolutely nowhere near any position of power, let alone in Gaza. The future of Gaza must be decided by the Palestinian people, not the war criminals of history.

Following the announcement of the proposals it was incredibly disappointing, although totally unsurprising, to see many of the world leaders, including British prime minister Keir Starmer, signal support for the plan. Starmer is himself totally complicit in Israel's genocide in Gaza, through arming and training the IDF, running surveillance operations and selling arms, he has played a key role in the destruction of Palestinian life in Gaza and turned a blind eye to the illegal annexation of the West Bank for many years.

We note that Starmer's welcoming of these proposals failed to condemn Trump's comments that Israel should "finish the job" in Gaza should these negotiations fail. We also note that Starmer appears to have ignored his own recent commitment to recognising the State of Palestine - something that Trump and Netanyahu have completely rejected in their proposals.

In short, these proposals are utterly reprehensible. Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people and anything less is unacceptable. The British government, along with others, must worker harder to bring about peace and a free Palestine - and this must start with ending all arms sales and military assistance to Israel.

Earlier this month, the Peace & Justice Project hosted The Gaza Tribunal: An Inquiry Into Britain's Role In Israeli War Crimes In Gaza. A full and comprehensive report on the testimonies given across the two days will be published in the coming weeks.