Making the 20-Point Plan Work in Gaza
During his latest world-saving meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former President Trump unveiled his 20 points for peace a grand plan, supposedly backed by Arab neighbors, Europeans, and anyone else willing to nod along promising to end the conflict that erupted on October 7, 2023, after Hamas’s brutal attack on Israel.
Netanyahu promptly embraced the plan as a “path forward.” Arab mediators dutifully presented it to Hamas, which responded with what could almost pass for cooperation: they’d release the hostages but, naturally, wanted to renegotiate the rest.
So yes, peace might finally be at hand just as soon as decades of distrust, politics, and power plays vanish overnight
The 20 points envision the creation of a transition authority to take civilian responsibility for Gaza under a “board of peace” chaired by President Trump. An international security force would be assembled from capable military forces largely from the Arab world—and would take responsibility for disarming Hamas and other militants, providing security for Gazans, and preventing the territory from being used to threaten or attack Israel.
Photo by Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/Reuters
Hamas’s tentative acceptance of the framework is a major step forward, and may result in the immediate return of Israelis so cruelly taken hostage. It could presage a new beginning for the devastated population of Gaza. But the disarmament and demobilization of Hamas and allied groups is vital to give the traumatized Israeli people security and an end to a war that seemed endless.
We led a RAND study published earlier this year that explored the challenges. Among the immediate priorities, the Gaza transitional authority must be established, funded, and staffed with hundreds of experienced, nonpolitical, and courageous administrators willing to commit to help improve the lives of Gazans and stop the violence.
Nations with serious military capabilities will have to volunteer elite units to serve in the international security force, under a unitary command. Logistics, intelligence support, and secure communications networks will need to be established. Capable, vetted Palestinian security personnel from Gaza must be added to the force, under international security force leadership, to maintain order and connect with Gazans.
Humanitarian agencies and NGOs will have to work together under the transitional authority umbrella to make a rapid improvement in the lives of Palestinian residents of Gaza, which have been so impacted by war and devastation these past two years.
Creating better immediate housing for the majority of Gazans who have no home to return to will inevitably rely on camps, rehabilitation of urban areas, and razing and rebuilding of destroyed areas. Education will need to be reestablished, as Gaza’s children have been out of school now for two years. Health care, utilities, transportation, will all need careful planning.
Our study emphasized that these transitional measures to restore security and humanitarian conditions will need to be quickly supplemented with governance, economic, and reconstruction programs to make the implementation of the 20 points the start of a new relationship between the Palestinian and Israeli peoples, based on peaceful cooperation, responsible governance, and integration into the wider region.
As the 20 points set out, a “technocratic” Palestinian administration should be selected and empowered to oversee utilities and services without corruption or favoritism. Steps should be taken to establish a dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous coexistence (as envisaged in point number 20).
Transforming the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into a durable, peaceful relationship between neighbors will require leadership and vision from both sides.
Gaza’s economy, never strong, has been devastated by the war, with complete border closures and widespread destruction of farms, factories, and markets. Our follow-on report sets out principles of the design and implementation of reconstruction efforts, both short- and long-term.
In particular, temporary humanitarian measures, once set up, typically endure for the long term, and so immediate humanitarian efforts should be designed with that understanding. Gaza will need a functioning financial system capable of financing trade, investment, and part of the costs of local governance, with mechanisms for accountability.
Above all, the transformation of the tragic 70-year-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict to a durable, peaceful relationship between neighbors committed to peaceful coexistence will require exceptional leadership and vision from both sides. Palestinians and Israelis committed to nonviolence and cooperation between neighbors need to stand up, put aside rivalries and hostilities, and work to make a better future a reality.
It will be very difficult, and the prospects for success are not assured. But the time to start is now.
This commentary was originally published by The Hill on October 15, 2025.
