The Illusion of “Peace”: Trump’s Deal and the Arab Betrayal of Palestine
By Mohamad Hammoud
Life in the World’s Largest Prison
For decades, Palestinians have lived in the world’s largest open-air prison—starved, bombed, and slaughtered while the world looked away. Arab and Muslim rulers watched in silence, their thrones secured by submission, their voices muted by fear.
Through it all, Palestinians clung to hope—dreaming that one day justice would break through the walls of their oppression.
Instead came a death sentence to that dream. Backed by American power and cloaked in Arab complicity, the Zionist regime offered not peace but surrender: accept humiliation, or face annihilation.
This is the deal Donald Trump dares to call peace. It is not peace. It is the erasure of a people—the fate of the Native Americans repeated on another land. The only question is whether Palestinians will accept this fate or, like the cry of Karbala, declare: “Far from us is disgrace”.
A Deal Written in “Tel Aviv”
From the start, the contours of Trump’s plan mirrored Israel’s ambitions. The Guardian reported it calls for Hamas’s disarmament, a technocratic Gaza administration, and international oversight of reconstruction measures that secure Israel while stripping Palestinians of political agency.
Netanyahu could hardly hide his glee. As The Washington Post noted, he hailed the plan as a guarantee of “Israel’s” “war aims”, including hostages’ return and permanent security control.
The details make the betrayal even clearer. Marketed as the “20-point Gaza Peace Plan,” the proposal makes no mention of a Palestinian state, no recognition of the 1967 borders, and no right of return. Gaza’s air and sea would remain under an indefinite “Israeli”-US-Emirati “security partnership”. The territory would be permanently demilitarized, its resistance dismantled, its security reduced to a lightly armed police force vetted by Tel Aviv.
In short: the blockade is legalized, the siege privatized, and the occupation rebranded as peace.
Even Israeli media admitted it. AP reported that local outlets predicted the deal would “remove the idea of a Palestinian state forever.” Netanyahu himself bragged that the plan guarantees “total Israeli security control” and finally aligns Arab capitals with Tel Aviv’s vision.
Arab Leaders Bow, Silence Palestine
Arab and Muslim states rushed to embrace the plan. Within hours, the foreign ministers of Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the UAE and Qatar issued a joint statement praising Trump’s “leadership” and pledging cooperation, reported Al Jazeera.
Turkey’s President Erdogan—once a self-styled champion of Palestinian rights—endorsed the plan outright. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged all parties to support it. Even Indonesia, long the moral conscience of the OIC, offered troops to enforce it, as confirmed by the Times of “Israel”.
These are not acts of principle. They are acts of submission.
As Reuters noted, Saudi Arabia—once tied to the Arab "Peace" Initiative, which linked normalization to Palestinian statehood—quietly dropped that condition. The UAE and Egypt echoed Washington’s language while ignoring the absence of sovereignty.
The message is unmistakable: dependence on Washington now outweighs decades of declared solidarity.
Aid Without Freedom
For Palestinians, the deal offers aid without freedom, money without dignity. AP reported that Israeli forces would retain control of Gaza’s borders and security even after any so-called withdrawal.
The Guardian noted that Gazans already view the deal as a trap. Reconstruction funds are dangled like charity, while their rights are erased. Palestinians are treated not as a people with claims, but as a problem to be managed.
The more profound betrayal is that Arab and Muslim governments, once pledging support, now provide legitimacy to a framework Palestinians never consented to.
Tony Blair: The Wrong Man for Gaza
Adding insult to injury, Trump’s plan envisions a “Board of Peace” to oversee Gaza—possibly including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Reuters reported that Blair is being considered to manage reconstruction.
But Blair is no neutral broker. His name is synonymous with the Iraq War, a catastrophe that killed hundreds of thousands and destabilized the region. Time magazine reminded readers of his central role in that disaster.
For Palestinians, Blair’s involvement is proof that the deal is a sham. As The Guardian observed, analysts call his appointment “fatally flawed”, warning that his technocratic approach risks suppressing resistance under the guise of rebuilding.
A man complicit in devastation is now poised to dictate Gaza’s future.
Conclusion: Far from Disgrace
The deal lays bare a simple truth: Palestinian liberation cannot rely on Washington, Tel Aviv or Arab rulers who prize expediency over principle. It is a call to action, not resignation.
Donald Trump hails it as peace. “Israel” cheers it as a victory. Arab and Muslim states applaud it as a form of diplomacy.
But Palestinians know the truth: this is humiliation disguised as generosity, submission masquerading as compromise. As history reminds us—from the stolen lands of Native Americans to the siege of Gaza—freedom is never granted. It is taken.
And so the choice remains. Will Palestinians accept this imposed fate—or will they rise, like the cry of Karbala, to declare: “Far from us is disgrace”.
