Denis Charbit is a professor of political science at the Open University of Israel. He has written numerous books on Israel and Zionism. His upcoming work, Yitzhak Rabin, la paix assassinée? (“Yitzhak Rabin, assassinated peace?”), will be published on October 29.

How do you assess the peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump for Gaza?

“Peace plan” is a rather grand term. It is a statement made up of 20 principles, and much bolder than the Oslo Accords of 1993. It is worth noting that humanitarian concerns were separated from political ones, and it was acknowledged that the end of the war and the release of the hostages were urgent and top priorities. The demands of Israeli society were met: All the hostages were released on the same day, October 13. The major omission in this plan remains the West Bank. There is another issue: We all know that it was not [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu’s determination that brought the hostages home, but Donald Trump’s. What should we make of this paradox, now laid bare: We are a sovereign country, yet it is our ally who – fortunately – forced our government to act?

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