The head of US President Donald Trump's Peace Council, Nickolay Mladenov, who is responsible for efforts to implement the Gaza ceasefire plan, last night criticized Israel for its attacks on the war-torn Palestinian territory and warned that the alternative to the US proposal is a resumption of the war, the Associated Press reported, BTA reported.
Mladenov told the UN Security Council yesterday that Trump's 20-point plan is not stalled and "has moved from the negotiating table to the drawing board."
According to him, the militant group "Hamas" has adopted the key provision of the proposal to disarm and transfer control of Gaza to civilian authorities. But Israeli strikes that have been ongoing since last October continue to kill Palestinians - albeit in significantly fewer numbers - and Gazans do not feel that the conflict is ending, he said.
"After three years of war and 20 years of military operations, I ask: Will another strike on an ammunition depot prevent "Hamas" from rearming or tightening its grip on Gaza?", Mladenov said. "It won't. This only delays the demilitarization that would have occurred, and hinders the transition to a civilian government, he added.
The recent disarmament agreement that the United States reached with "Hamas" was seen as a potential breakthrough in efforts to end the war, which was sparked by the militant group's deadly attacks on October 7, 2023, in southern Israel. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that his forces will not withdraw from their current positions in Gaza until "Hamas" did not hand over all its weapons.
Mladenov also said that in a meeting he attended last week with Netanyahu and Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner, "we went through his government's concerns one by one and narrowed down the areas that still require technical work."
Israel's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, Noah Furman, reaffirmed his country's commitment to Trump's plan to the Security Council, but stressed that it could not succeed while Hamas retained its weapons. Furman said Israel was working closely with the United States to achieve the disarmament of Hamas.
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Mike Walz, said that concerns about Trump's plan were being addressed and that the disarmament of Hamas was a priority. will be assessed based on the organization's actions.
Mladenov warned of the discrepancy between the roadmap and what is happening on the ground, and said that if the war resumes, there will be no roadmap for the parties to return to, nor will there be anything left in place to restore.
"This would not be just a setback," he said. "This would be a point of no return for anyone," the diplomat said.
Mladenov stressed the need for political will to overcome differences, saying a choice must be made: "Gaza that is disarmed, rebuilt and reconnected to the world. Or a Gaza that is re-armed, divided and in ruins, with a radicalized generation growing up in it, and the next war already looming on the horizon."
As for the Palestinians, Mladenov said Trump's plan includes a "credible path to a political horizon" and a two-state solution to the decades-long conflict. Netanyahu is adamantly opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state, the AP notes.