Europe praises Trump’s Gaza proposal as Netanyahu doubles down opposition to statehood 

BRUSSELS — Cracks are already appearing in Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan. 

On Tuesday, European leaders were quick to praise the U.S. President’s 20-point proposal as a long-awaited opening for diplomacy. But only hours later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu undercut the fanfare, declaring in a video message that Israel would “forcibly resist” the creation of a Palestinian state.

Trump’s Gaza plan, presented Monday in Washington with Netanyahu beside him, combines ceasefire and hostage-release steps with reconstruction promises, offering Israeli security assurances in return for global backing of Gaza’s recovery. 

European leaders’ cautious optimism

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s measured praise set the tone. 

“The EU stands ready to contribute,” she wrote on X, adding that “a two-state solution remains the only viable path to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, with Israelis and Palestinians living side by side, in peace and security, free from violence and terrorism.”

French President Emmanuel Macron urged Israel to embrace the plan and pressed Hamas to release all hostages. He said the framework should “open the way for in-depth discussions with all relevant partners” toward a two-state solution. 

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hailed the initiative as a “potential turning point.” Her government pledged to coordinate closely with Washington, European and regional partners, and thanked the U.S. President for “his efforts to bring peace to the Middle East.” 

In Berlin, Chancellor Friedrich Merz called Trump’s plan the most credible opportunity in years to halt the bloodshed, while warning that its success hinges on Hamas. “The fact that Israel supports this plan is a significant step forward,” he said. “Now Hamas must clear the path to peace.”

Hamas ‘studying’ Trump’s peace plan

Mediators in Qatar and Egypt delivered the U.S. proposal to Hamas on Monday evening. Leaders in Gaza said they would examine the plan “in good faith,” but as of Tuesday no formal reply had reached Washington.

Since the war began, Hamas has made an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza its central condition for any ceasefire. While the group has shown limited willingness to discuss governance arrangements through mediators, it has consistently rejected disarmament, arguing its arsenal is the only leverage left to secure a sovereign Palestinian state.

The Palestinian Authority, by contrast, welcomed President Trump’s “sincere and determined efforts” and reiterated its readiness to assume governance in Gaza, pledging elections and institutional reforms once the conflict ends.

Statehood or stalemate?

Adding to the chorus of European support, Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas declared on X: “Israel has signed on to the plan. Hamas must now accept it without delay, starting with the immediate release of hostages.”

Yet that optimism sits awkwardly against Netanyahu’s own rhetoric. 

Speaking in Hebrew as reported by The Guardian, the Israeli prime minister insisted the IDF would “remain in most of the Gaza Strip” and repeated his government’s hard line. “We are firmly opposed to a Palestinian state. President Trump also said this; he said he understands our position,” he said.

Trump’s plan, however, seemed to suggest otherwise. 

Point 19 explicitly states: “While Gaza re-development advances and when the PA reform programme is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognise as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.”

European leaders have yet to respond to Netanyahu’s latest rejection, but the gap between the plan’s reference to a pathway toward Palestinian statehood and Israel’s categorical opposition is already emerging as its central fault line