In two years of genocide, a quarter of a million people in Gaza have either been killed, injured or missing. Israel has committed the worst crimes outlined in the Genocide Convention, including mass killings of Palestinians, causing serious bodily and mental harm to Palestinians, and deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to bring about the destruction of the Palestinian nation. Israeli politicians have often uttered genocidal statements against the Palestinians.

Donald Trump has announced the first phase of a plan to end the war in Gaza. The deal involves the release of Israeli hostages from Hamas custody and Israeli military withdrawal to an "agreed upon line" which remains undefined and unknown to the public. In exchange, Hamas is expecting an amnesty. Trump calls these initial moves as the "first step towards a Strong, Durable and Everlasting Peace". Trump will visit Israel as part of the first phase of the deal.

Qatar, Egypt and Turkey were part of the team which hammered out the deal under the leadership of Trump and his secretary of state Marco Rubio. Hamas even acknowledged Trump's role in brokering the deal. These first steps are seen as part of Trump's broader 20-point peace plan which envisions a demilitarized Gaza Strip and the disarmament of Hamas.

Under the 20-point plan, Gaza will be a deradicalized terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors; Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza; there will be an immediate end to the Israel-Hamas War; hostages should be released within 72 hours of the agreement being reached; Israel will release nearly 2,000 Palestinian political prisoners; the disarmament of Hamas; opening up the delivery of international aid to Gaza; non-interference in the entry and distribution of aid for the people of Gaza; the governance of Gaza will be entrusted to a technocratic committee of Palestinians under the supervision of a Board of Peace which will be chaired by President Trump and include former British PM Tony Blair; Trump will sponsor an economic development plan for Gaza; a special economic zone will be created in Gaza; no one will be forced to leave Gaza and there shall be a right of return; Hamas shall have no role in the governance of Gaza; and key Arab countries have to guarantee that Hamas and other factions pose no threat.

The plan calls for an International Stabilization Force (ISF) to be deployed to Gaza. The plan mentions that Israel cannot occupy or annex Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) can transfer areas under its control to the ISF. The redevelopment of Gaza and reforms undertaken by the Palestinian Authority can be a pathway for Palestinian self-determination; and the United States will promote dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians.

UN legal experts have criticized the conditional nature of self-determination laid out by Trump's peace plan. The Trump Peace Plan restricts Palestinian autonomy instead of guaranteeing full statehood. The plan treats Gaza in isolation and does not integrate its scheme with the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Experts have warned that the plan undermines Palestinian territorial unity which is recognized as a single unit under international law. The plan is also silent on the need for Israel to provide reparations for the genocide in Gaza.

Trump has also not addressed the situation in the West Bank where illegal Israeli settlements continue to obstruct Palestinian daily life. Israel's threats to annex the West Bank, which is increasingly dubbed in Israeli parlance as 'Judea and Samaria', have also not received any attention from Trump. Israel's settlements have obstructed a pathway to Palestinian statehood. Settlements have to be either dismantled or integrated under genuine Palestinian governance.

There are concerns regarding the amnesty for Hamas, which is also accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The plan risks absolving Israeli and Hamas perpetrators for the egregious crimes which took place during the genocidal war in Gaza in the past two years.

The Bangladesh Foreign Ministry stated that Dhaka "stands ready to contribute to peacekeeping and the reconstruction process in Gaza, emphasizing its continued commitment to promoting peace, stability, and justice in the Middle East". Both Pakistan and Bangladesh called for a two-state solution based on "pre-1967 borders", with East Jerusalem as Palestine's capital.

Umran Chowdhury is Assistant Editor of the Dhaka Courier and a Research Associate at the Cosmos Foundation and Bay of Bengal Institute.