Israeli officials 'already contradicting Trump' on big Gaza peace deal

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that both Israel and Hamas had agreed to the “first phase” of his 20-point plan to end hostilities in Gaza, but multiple high-ranking Israeli officials are already pouring cold water on the proposal.

Under the peace plan, Hamas would return all of the remaining Israeli hostages and commit to peaceful co-existence, and in exchange, Israel would begin a phased withdrawal of Gaza and release 1,950 Palestinians it currently holds captive – 250 serving life sentences, and 1,700 detained after Oct. 7, 2023. Israel currently holds an estimated 9,500 Palestinians captive, around 3,660 of them without criminal charge.

Hamas would also be granted amnesty under the plan, granted they agree to end hostilities and not play any role in future governance of Gaza. It’s this point, however, that has some high-ranking Israeli officials already souring on the deal.

“Mixed emotions on a complex morning,” wrote Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in a social media post on X Thursday, according to an automated translation of his post, originally written in Hebrew.

“...We cannot join the short-sighted celebrations and vote in favor of the deal. A tremendous responsibility to ensure that this is not, God forbid, a deal of ‘hostages in exchange for stopping the war,’ as Hamas thinks and boasts.”

As pointed out by Arab Center Washington DC Fellow Assal Rad, however, Smotrich’s comments were in direct contradiction with a core component of the deal as was presented by Trump.

“Israeli officials are already contradicting Trump,” Rad wrote in a social media post on X Thursday morning.

“Here is Smotrich saying they want to ‘ensure that this is not, God forbid, a deal of hostages in exchange for stopping the war.’ That is, in fact, exactly the point of a ceasefire.”

Smotrich, who last year argued it was “justified and moral” to allow Palestinian civilians to “die of hunger” amid Israel’s aid blockade, was not alone in his opposition to one of the key components of Trump’s peace plan. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir also spoke ill of the plan, going as far as to threaten Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his far-right party would leave the Israeli government if Hamas “continues to exist” following the hostage exchange.

“We will not be part of a national defeat which will be an eternal disgrace, and which will turn into a ticking time bomb of the next massacre,” Gvir said on Saturday, according to The Times of Israel. “...[We] can in no way agree to a scenario in which the terror group that brought about the greatest ever catastrophe upon the State of Israel will be able to resurrect itself.”

Both Smotrich and Gvir pledged to vote against the peace plan, and Israel, despite Trump’s demand that the nation “immediately stop the bombing of Gaza,” has continued to strike Gaza, killing dozens.

“Israeli Finance Minister and de facto West Bank governor Bezalel Smotrich directly contradicts contours of ceasefire agreement this morning, saying it must not be a ‘hostages in exchange for end of war’ deal – which is precisely what it is, if Trump holds Israel to it,” wrote New York Times opinion writer Mairav Zonszein Thursday in a social media post on X.

Still, both Israelis and Gazans have been seen rejoicing at the news that an agreement had been reached on the peace plan, with millions hopeful for an end to the hostilities that began exactly two years ago as of Tuesday.