Where Trump’s Plan to Build a ‘New Gaza’ Stands

In presenting a 20-point plan for the Gaza Strip in September, US President Donald Trump promised more than an end to the war between Israel and Hamas. He proposed a remaking of the territory into what he called New Gaza. The aim was not only to improve life for its residents but to ensure such a conflagration would not recur.

The fighting in Gaza has generally stopped, and a number of appointments to the bodies called for in Trump’s plan have been announced. But achieving the so-called Phase 2 goals of the plan depends largely on what Hamas does next. While formally agreeing to the plan’s ceasefire terms and to cede power in the future, the group — which is still in de-facto control of about half of Gaza — balks at a Phase 2 demand for its own disarmament. That’s drawn threats from Israel, whose forces remain in the other half of the territory, to resume the war.