FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump is interviewed by Reuters White House correspondent Steve Holland (not pictured) during an exclusive interview in the Oval Office in the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 14, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
The Wall Street Journal's conservative editorial board issued a stunning warning about President Donald Trump's latest efforts to end the war between Israel and Hamas, saying the president's plan "legitimizes the terrorist" and fails to secure peace.
Last week, the Trump administration announced that Trump's peace plan for the war had entered "Phase 2," which includes establishing an international peacekeeping commission. However, the plan also appears to rely on the assumption that Hamas will "[see] the light" and disarm themselves, which is something other Arab nations in the region and moneyed interests have failed to achieve, according to a new editorial published on Sunday.
"The opening of 'phase two' of President Trump’s Gaza peace plan signals rising hopes but dimming ambitions," the editorial read in part. "As the White House realizes how little an International Stabilization Force will do, its vision hinges more than ever on Hamas seeing the light."
"Either way, an International Stabilization Force is no longer expected to lead disarmament," the editorial continued. "Arab states and others have made clear they have no interest in challenging Hamas’s power, which carries risk."
"Instead the U.S. is engaging and coordinating with Hamas on all matters of Gaza’s current and future governance, which legitimizes the terrorists," it added. "What happened to the point in Mr. Trump’s plan that said 'Hamas and other factions agree to not have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly, indirectly, or in any form'?"