PM Modi hails Trump’s Gaza peace plan, asks ‘all concerned’ to support effort

His quick post, at a time when India-US ties are still facing challenges, is a positive step forward – articulating “support” for the US President’s “initiative” and “effort” is seen as an acknowledgement of his role as peacemaker in the region. Also, his call for “all concerned” to rally behind the initiative is seen as a signal to Iran, which is India’s partner in the region.

Modi has framed Trump’s initiative as a “viable pathway” to securing peace in the “larger West Asian region”. India considers parts of West Asia as part of its extended neighbourhood, and hopes to gain from lasting peace in the region, where it has friends across the aisle — Israel as well as Iran and Saudi Arabia.

For India, peace in the region is important, for its diaspora, its economic interests and its strategic needs. There are about 18,000 Indians in Israel, about 5,000-10,000 in Iran, and some 90 lakh in the region as a whole.

The region provides India with 80 per cent of its oil supplies. Also, major Arab countries have been keen to invest in the Indian economy; those plans will get a boost with peace. Then there is the India-Middle East-Europe Economic corridor, which India has high hopes from.

India hopes to reap the dividends from peace in the region, which is beneficial for its access to Europe and Central Asia, and its economic and trade corridor. That was evident during the post-Abraham Accords period, since the first Trump administration, and the formation of an economic grouping like the I2U2 with India, Israel, US and UAE as its members.

The 20-point document released by White House calls for an immediate ceasefire, an exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, a staged Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, Hamas disarmament and a transitional government led by an international body.

According to the plan, Hamas would have no part in administering Gaza, and all its military infrastructure — including tunnels – would be dismantled. Hamas members who pledge to live peacefully would be granted amnesty, and those who wish to leave Gaza would be allowed to do so. The international security force would ensure Hamas’ disarmament and keep order. It would also train Palestinian police to take over law enforcement.

Humanitarian aid would be allowed to flow into Gaza in large amounts and would be run by “neutral international bodies”, including the UN and the Red Crescent. It is unclear whether the Gaza Humanitarian Fund, a controversial alternative food distribution system backed by Israel and the US, would continue to operate.

“Gaza will be governed under the temporary transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee,” says the proposal, although it does not name any Palestinian individual or group by name. The panel would be supervised by a new international transitional body called the ‘Board of Peace’, headed by Trump and including other heads of state and members, including former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. The committee would be responsible for the day-to-day running of public services and municipalities in Gaza and would be made up of “qualified Palestinians and international experts”.

The war in Gaza has left more than 66,000 people dead, after the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas killed 1,200 people and led to about 250 people being taken hostage.

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