Trump, Bibi Agree on Framework for Middle East Peace | The American Spectator

President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu have agreed on a framework for peace in the Middle East, according to Israel Hayom. Following the U.S. bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites, the framework was discussed in a four-way call with President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer. The four agreed in principle to the following five elements:

First, Israel will end its war in Gaza within two weeks. Four Arab nations will then assume custody of Gaza and Hamas will be booted out of power. The remaining hostages will be released and any residual Hamas leadership will be exiled out of Gaza.

Several key questions remain. Would the “four Arab nations” include Qatar and the Palestinian Authority, both of which are Islamist, and who supported Hamas and the October 7 attack on Israel? If so, their participation will likely undermine any chances of lasting peace, especially given Bibi’s position that the PA would not be involved in any post-war Gaza. Also unclear is the mechanism on how the United States and Israel will achieve the release of the hostages.

Second, several nations will allow Gazans to voluntarily immigrate to their countries. A lingering question here is which countries will ultimately agree to this, and at what cost to the United States and Israel. According to reports, the U.S. and Israel have been in talks with Sudan, Somalia, Somaliland, and Egypt, with reports of Jordan and Albania having already publicly rejected such an idea. For its part, Israel has set up a voluntary emigration directorate within its department of defense to assist in voluntary emigration.

Third, the United States and Israel committed to expanding the Abraham Accords, naming Syria and Saudi Arabia as new targets as well as unnamed “additional Arab and Muslim countries.” A durable peace with Syria will turn on Syria’s willingness to give up its claims to the Golan Heights in its entirety including Mount Hermon, and to also cease persecution of the Alawites, Christians, and Druze (with the recent bombing of St. Elias’ Church in Damascus, leaving 25 dead and the perpetrators potentially coming from an offshoot of the Syrian de-facto president Ahmed al-Sharaa’s former terrorist outfit Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), continuing to put the viability of religious tolerance in Syria into doubt).

Getting Saudi Arabia on board would be likely contingent on the U.S. blessing the Saudi civilian nuclear program and providing additional defense guarantees. Additional Muslim countries that might be ripe for ascension to the Accords in the next several months, according to a recent interview by Steve Witkoff, the senior adviser and assistant to President Donald Trump, could be Azerbaijan, Lebanon, Libya, and Armenia.

Of these, Azerbaijan would be the easiest given its warm relationship with Israel. As the IDF is still hitting Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Lebanese government would need to be able to fully snuff out Hezbollah from within its borders for peace with Israel to be viable. Libya would be complicated given its ongoing civil war, and Armenian ascension if possible could be coupled with peace with Azerbaijan, and efforts to stem anti-Semitism in Armenia.

Fourth, Israel will endorse a “two states” resolution concept so long as the Palestinian Authority reforms. Hopefully this will vindicate Israel, given the Palestinian Authority’s unlikely willingness to reform on its jihadist, anti-Israel, and anti-Semitic nature.

Lastly, the U.S. will agree to “limited Israeli sovereignty implementation in Judea and Samaria.” This will hopefully re-open President Trump’s offer that Israel can annex at least parts of Judea and Samaria under the previous Trump administration’s Deal of the Century. Israeli sovereignty has already garnered approval with several Congressional Republicans.

While several unanswered questions still remain, the recent Trump/Netanyahu framework for peace seems promising. Hopefully the West’s recent military wins against Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran can translate to significant peace dividends soon.

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