MOSCOW, October 13. /TASS/. As US President Donald Trump pats himself on the back for halting the violence in Gaza, his settlement plan still has some holes in it, Vladimir Fitin, an advisor to the director of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, told TASS.
Earlier, Trump said that Palestine’s radical movement Hamas will agree to lay down weapons as part of the Gaza conflict settlement progress, proclaiming that hostilities in the enclave are over.
"We should keep in mind the character of the current US president. He always wants to talk about his victories, to be in the spotlight, to boss around the entire planet. There’s always this bravado behind what he says. He thinks that he can resolve the most pressing issues of the present day with the wave of his hand," Fitin said. "Of course, it is important that a ceasefire has been achieved, but we’ll see what happens next."
At the same time, the analyst said that Trump’s 20-point plan is incomplete and lacking in substance, making predictions tough to make.
"We can always hope for the best, but lots of discrepancies remain, first of all, the question of Hamas’s future in Gaza," he said.
Fitin went on to say that while Israel insists that Hamas needs to be fully disarmed and not be involved in the enclave’s future governance, "as recent events have shown, Hamas is far from laying down weapons."
Therefore, questions remain about "who is going to disarm it, on what conditions, what forces will be in charge of security in Gaza," as well as about who will govern the Gaza Strip and will be included in its future administration.
"There are lots of issues that need to be clarified and resolved. So far, we can only note with satisfaction that Israeli hostages have been released and that strikes on Gaza have stopped," the expert continued.
In his opinion, the creation of the Palestinian state "is absolutely unrealistic at this point."
"This question will not be on the agenda as long as all of Gaza’s problems are resolved," he said.
Speaking about rebuilding Gaza, Fitin said the Americans count on oil-rich countries of the Persian Gulf and some of US allies, such as Japan.
"It's possible that the United States will also make its contribution. But, again, that remains to be seen. At this point, there is nothing but intentions," he added. "It’s hard to say how much time it will take. It all depends on how intense the reconstruction effort is."
Gaza deal
Overnight to October 10, Netanyahu’s office said that the government had approved the hostage release deal. On October 9, US President Donald Trump stated that the Israel-Hamas talks in Egypt had yielded an agreement on the first phase of a peace plan. According to the US leader, phase one provides for the release of all hostages in the near future and the withdrawal of Israeli forces to agreed positions inside Gaza.