News - Middle East: Amid the joint US-Israeli announcement of what has been branded the “Trump Peace Plan,” Yemeni and Palestinian political experts told Almasirah that the initiative poses grave risks to the Palestinian cause, warning it is neither a peace plan nor a viable political framework but rather a surrender project designed to liquidate Palestinian rights and pave the way for further Zionist expansion.

Speaking in a series of televised interventions, Yemeni Ambassador Mohammed al-Sadah, Palestinian researcher Adnan al-Sabbagh, political analyst Saleh Abu Azzah, and journalist Asri Fayyad described the plan as a Zionist project dressed in American cover, aimed primarily at salvaging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from his political and international crises.

Al-Sadah argued the initiative was prepared by Netanyahu and merely announced by Trump to strip Palestinians of the gains secured through decades of sacrifice. He said the plan seeks to corner the resistance, weaken the Palestinian Authority, and place Gaza under international guardianship as a prelude to handing it over to Israeli enemy's control.

Al-Sabbagh noted that Arab leaders had been “deceived from the outset,” stressing that the real purpose of the announcement was to prop up Netanyahu politically and transform Gaza into a joint US-Israeli base. He added that any talk of negotiations or peace is simply a façade to legitimize what he called “a project of liquidation.”

Abu Azzah highlighted the involvement of international figures such as Tony Blair, Jared Kushner, and Ron Dermer in shaping the plan. He warned that minor Arab and Islamic “adjustments” did not alter its core pro-Israel character. He pointed to growing global rejection of Israeli dominance, citing the opposition of more than 70 countries, though some Arab and Islamic states endorsed the project, thereby pressuring Palestinian factions.

Fayyad dismissed the initiative as “an Israeli plan wearing American clothes,” designed to strip Palestinians of their rights while presenting Netanyahu as a peacemaker. He stressed that the resistance views it as a trap to dismantle Palestinian steadfastness, asserting that acceptance would be tantamount to betrayal.

The experts agreed that the plan represents surrender rather than peace and urged Palestinians, Arabs, and the international community to reject it outright, affirming that resistance remains the only viable option to defend Palestinian rights and prevent Gaza from being turned into a US-Israeli outpost.

Trump has unveiled a 20-point peace plan aimed at ending Israeli enemy’s two-year war on Gaza, which has killed over 66,000 Palestinians since October 2023. He stated that, if Hamas accepts the proposal, all hostages would be released within 72 hours and Gaza would be demilitarized — with Hamas and other armed groups removed from operational roles and barred from governing Gaza, directly or indirectly.

Trump said the plan envisages a phased Zionist withdrawal governed by an agreed timeline negotiated between the parties and supervised by regional and international actors. He claimed regional leaders committed, at least verbally, to disarm Gaza and to take responsibility for neutralizing "militant groups"; if Arab and Muslim states cannot handle the issue, he warned, the Israeli enemy would be given a free hand to eliminate Hamas. Trump expressed optimism that Hamas would respond positively and urged Palestinians to seize the opportunity for a promising future. 

He also acknowledged Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s opposition to Palestinian statehood and framed the plan’s ultimate goal as removing the "regional threat".

The so-called “Trump Plan,” presented jointly with Netanyahu, has been widely criticized as an effort to bypass the Palestinian leadership and enforce Zionist security and territorial demands. It comes at a time when Netanyahu faces mounting domestic pressure and increasing global isolation due to the war in Gaza and mass civilian casualties.