Israel’s victory deal could transform the region

If Hamas refuses, the outcome will be no less decisive. Israel will unfortunately have to continue its military campaign as Trump said – but this time with the tacit backing of major Arab and Muslim countries, and even the Europeans, who have now also embraced the plan. Hamas is now under extreme pressure: should it say no and extend the suffering for Palestinians, the plan will still move forward with Arab support in those areas of Gaza already freed by Israel. Either way, Hamas’s grip is broken, and the war is moving towards its conclusion.

The agreement also references the possibility of a Palestinian state down the road. But Trump underlined this would depend on the Palestinian Authority carrying out far-reaching reforms, from ending incitement, corruption and pay for slay to establishing the rule of law and free elections. “I challenge the Palestinians to take responsibility for their destiny …to fully condemn and prohibit terrorism and earn their way for a brighter future… If the Palestinian Authority does not complete the reforms that I laid out in my vision for peace in 2020 they have only themselves to blame.”

By keeping the prospect of statehood alive but strictly conditional, the plan gave Arab capitals the political cover to sign on. And the result is transformative: This deal breaks Israel’s diplomatic isolation, driven by misguided Western action. Qatar, Jordan, the UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt have now officially endorsed the plan, alongside Saudi Arabia. The wider implication is clear: the agreement may pave the way for an expansion of the Abraham Accords, with even Riyadh finally coming into the fold.

Britain and its European partners, by contrast, chose to indulge in grandstanding and domestic politicking, pressuring and demonising Israel at every turn. Their policy has proved not only irresponsible but irrelevant.

And in Britain, the spectacle turned to farce: on the very day when Arab and Muslim leaders joined forces with Israel under President Trump’s leadership to advance peace, the Labour Party adopted a resolution accusing Israel of “genocide” – this era’s blood libel. In doing so, Labour has not only shamed itself but managed to sideline itself further from the realities of Middle East peace – irrelevant at the very moment history is being made. Trump, in his characteristically mocking way, underlined the point: Europe was very much “involved,” he said. They asked me, “is it true?” In other words, the sum total of Europe’s role was to ring up Washington to check whether this history-making event was really happening.

But the war has revealed more than Europe’s irrelevance or Labour’s disgrace. It has stripped away the mask of an old, deep hatred. October 7 was followed not just by demonstrations of hostility to Israel, but by open celebrations of slaughter in universities and streets across the West. It was a grotesque mix of simultaneous denial and glorification of the massacres. It triggered an unprecedented surge in antisemitic attacks and discrimination, from campuses to city streets. For Jewish communities, including in Britain, this was a searing burden – yet also a moment of unity and resilience.

If Israel now emerges not weakened but stronger – diplomatically, militarily and economically – it may not end antisemitism, but it will help demoralise the antisemites.

Trump, echoing the words God spoke to Abraham, offered a deeper truth: “History has shown that those who have relations with Israel have thrived, while those who have devoted resources and attention towards the destruction and even annihilation of Israel have languished. They haven’t done well. Israel is not going anywhere.”

It is a reminder with wider resonance: nations and movements that seek cooperation with Israel prosper; those that prefer hostility only harm themselves. Britain’s politicians – and Labour above all – would do well to remember it.