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Trump's Gaza Peace Plan Stumbles over Hamas Disarmament
(Wall Street Journal) Feliz Solomon - President Trump's phased peace plan for Gaza is hitting obstacles in Hamas's refusal to disarm and Israel's unwillingness to retreat from the enclave until that happens. The second phase of the plan requires Hamas to give up governance, disarm and transfer control of the territory to an international force of troops and a technocratic committee of Palestinians who would run it. But Hamas still controls half of Gaza and refuses to disarm. Most countries won't send troops into Hamas territory as long as the U.S.-designated terrorist group remains there. In Trump's eagerness to secure a deal that would stop the fighting, analysts said Washington was willing to move ahead without a clear commitment from Hamas to disarm. "Nobody wants to go in and fight Hamas to remove their weapons," said former U.S. ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro. "The most important sticking point here is reality," said Ofer Shelah of the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies.