SHAH ALAM: The proposed Israel-Palestine peace plan comprising 20 points, put forward by US President Donald J. Trump alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt the Israeli genocide in Palestine, is not a peace offer but a threat, says Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The former prime minister said that the proposal gives Hamas a four-day timeframe to accept, warning that if rejected, attacks on Gaza would worsen, which is something difficult for Hamas to accept, Sinar Harian reported.
He explained that this was because more than 60,000 lives have been lost due to Israeli bombings, and the proposal would render the sacrifices of the Palestinian people meaningless.
"Trump and Netanyahu want to take over Gaza, which means the Palestinians must surrender.
"How they expect Hamas to accept surrender as a solution is hard to comprehend,” the Malay language daily quoted him as saying in a statement Friday (Oct 3).
Previously, Trump presented a 20-point plan to end the conflict in Gaza, outlining a detailed framework to achieve peace in the region.
The plan also sets clear long-term goals to end all fighting and launch a deradicalisation program across the Palestinian enclave.
On one hand, the proposal opens a pathway towards the potential establishment of a Palestinian state, a significant shift designed to achieve a lasting resolution.
However, many international political observers have described the peace plan as a façade to silence the growing global solidarity condemning the inhumane actions of the Zionist regime against the people of Gaza.
Further commenting, Dr Mahathir added that Trump is not a peacemaker, but rather uses threats of high tariffs, economic sanctions, and various demands to stop wars — a method that failed to resolve conflicts in Ukraine and Russia.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Hamas rejects this proposal. Genocide will continue more brutally with the aid of the United States,” he said.
