Trump calls 15-point Roadmap for Gaza ‘a great breakthrough’

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday commended the 15-point Roadmap for implementing his Comprehensive Peace Plan in Gaza made public the previous day by the Board of Peace, saying that nobody ever thought it possible to disarm Hamas.

“It’s a great breakthrough ... That shows you how much success we’re having with Iran, because if you go four month ago, five months ago, a deal like that would’ve been impossible. So it’s a big step for the Middle East and people are really impressed by it,” Trump told reporters at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, where he held a meeting with his Cabinet.

He added that “Israel is very happy” with the roadmap.

“Will it go through its ups and downs? It’s a very complex situation over there; the people are very complex and difficult. Many cases wonderful, many cases not so wonderful,” Trump added.

The roadmap, reportedly accepted by Hamas, stipulates the full disarmament of Hamas, and barring it from governance in the Strip.

However, while point No. 8 stipulates the decommission of heavy weaponry to an interim technocratic Palestinian governing body, known as the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), point No. 9 says that “Personal weapons in Gaza shall be subject to the regulations of relevant Palestinian laws,” which could allow Hamas operatives to carry personal arms.

Meanwhile, the NCAG said on X that it “welcomes the progress announced [on Thursday] regarding the roadmap, and the opening of a path toward beginning its implementation.”

The NCAG described the 15-point plan as a “milestone” for the Palestinians in Gaza, affirming its “full readiness to assume its responsibilities” to govern the Strip.

“The Committee’s mission is to serve our people in the Gaza Strip through a Palestinian administration characterized by efficiency, transparency, and accountability, guided by the principle of one authority, one law, and one security apparatus,” the technocratic body continued.

“Our goal is not limited to rebuilding what the war has destroyed, but extends beyond that to contributing to building a Gaza that is safe, stable, and prosperous, governed through legitimate Palestinian institutions, grounded in the rule of law, in a way that upholds the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and statehood,” the NCAG added.

Hamas refuses to commit to disarmament

Ghazi Hamad, a Hamas official involved in the negotiations, told Reuters on Friday that his terrorist group agreed to the conditions of the roadmap, but refrained from pledging to lay down it weapons.

Hamad said that Hamas would follow through with the steps of the plan only after the Jewish state stops carrying out strikes across the Gaza Strip and withdraws its forces to the border of Oct. 7, 2023.

The 15-point roadmap stipulates that no Gaza weapons would be handed over to Israel or other non-Palestinian parties.

Meanwhile, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized on Friday the “draft agreement” published by the Board of Peace, saying it is “not acceptable to Israel.”

He wrote on X in Hebrew language that in the aftermath of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel’s south, “a commitment to cease the eliminations of the terrorist organization’s murderers is tantamount to consenting for Hamas to regroup toward the next massacre.

“The targeted killings in Gaza must continue, encouraging emigration must happen, Israel must win,” he wrote.