Don't Be Fooled By "Trump's" Gaza Peace Deal
Even in a best case scenario, it's still all about grift
Unsurprisingly, the mainstream media is fawning over Trump, all but declaring that a potential1 Gaza peace deal puts him back in the running for the Nobel Peace Prize he has coveted since Obama won it. Bonus: A Nobel Peace Prize would really help launch some bigly new Trump brands.
Even Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, is getting into the act, saying in a public statement, “We hope this effort will lead to a lasting political solution that ends the Israeli occupation and establishes an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
Abbas then invoked the mad clown by name in an overcharged bluster of praise by calling out “the great efforts made by President Trump and all mediators to reach this agreement.” Seriously, dude? No wonder the residents of Gaza’s rubble hate you.
Like all things Trump, the deal is mostly about grift, but luckily for the people living in Gaza, there do seem to be some serious players at the negotiating table, especially from Egypt, which has a strong geopolitical interest in seeing a peaceful resolution that goes beyond pure cash considerations.
If there are any heroes here, it’s the Egyptians, who have quietly mastered the art of leveraging oil kingdoms to tame the Israeli military machine during one negotiation after another.
Israel claims that it will withdraw from Gaza “soon,” but trusting Netanyahu to take his finger off the trigger is like trusting your dog not to lick the ham hock you leave out on the kitchen table.
No matter. If you read mainstream media carefully between the lines, the true motives behind Trump’s interest in a peace deal emerge like the gold-plated statues rising out of the concrete facade that was once a White House Rose Garden.
First, let’s examine one of the more subtle storylines, this one from the New York Times:2
The agreement came after several days of negotiations in Egypt. Mediating countries, including Qatar, Egypt and the United States, had been pressuring Israel and Hamas, which do not negotiate directly. The deal seemed to develop suddenly, after months of false starts on a cease-fire as Gaza’s humanitarian crisis grew increasingly dire.
A development in early September had drastically altered the dynamic among the parties involved in the negotiations. On Sept. 9, Israel bombed a residential neighborhood in Doha, Qatar, where Hamas representatives were discussing the possibility of a plan to end the war.
Though the strike did not kill the Hamas negotiators, it was a provocation that angered officials in the Middle East and in Washington. Initially, it seemed to ruin any prospect for a cease-fire. Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, accused the Israeli government of trying “to sabotage every attempt to create opportunities for peace.”
The key word here, like most things Trump since 2016, begins with the letter “Q.”
No, not QAnon, but Qatar.
Qatar, you may recall, is the über-rich oil spigot on the Arabian coast that is ruled by an emir who has enough money to build several AI datacenters. It’s also become Trump’s own personal grift profit center on the Arabian Peninsula. Check it out:
Trump received a $400 million plane as a gift from Qatar’s royal family, which he has said will be retrofitted as his version of Air Force One.
His son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has extensive business interests in Qatar through Affinity Partners, which has profited from hundreds of millions of dollars in investments from Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund and which just closed a deal with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign fund3 to acquire Electronic Arts for $55 billion.
His chief of staff, Susie Wiles, the quiet monster behind much of what the Trump regime does, represented Qatar as a lobbyist for Florida-based Mercury Public Affairs back before she became his chief henchman.4
FBI Director Kash Patel was a consultant for Qatar’s U.S. embassy from 2021 until November 2024 through his company, Trishul LLC.5
Attorney General Pam Bondi earned $115,000 per month as a lobbyist for Qatar from 2020 until Qatar hosted the World Cup in 2022.
Steve Witkoff, one of the chief Middle East negotiators for the Trump regime, has danced to the tune of Qatari grift for a grand total of $623 million, obtained when Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund purchased his investment in New York’s Park Lane Hotel. I’ll say it again. $623 million.
Even Lee Zeldin, who is now leading the agency once known as the Environmental Protection Agency but should, like the Defense Department, be renamed (perhaps to the Oil Industry Protection Agency?), got into the act as a Qatari consultant.
The Wall Street Journal reports that 250 people associated with the Trump regime, either directly or indirectly, have significant financial ties to Qatar. The place is a gold mine for carbon grifters.6
Why does this matter?
Because Israel’s Gaza slaughter was going just fine in Trump’s eyes until Netanyahu blasted a Qatari building that housed what the Israeli military hoped would be Hamas leaders. Nothing gets under Trump’s skin, aside from Obama, more than someone interfering with his grift.
Qatar was furious at the incursion against its sovereignty, at least publicly (does a bikini-chasing emir really care about this kind of thing?).
The one thing that the Trump financial empire cannot afford is to lose Qatar. Netanyahu needed a talkin’ to, and he got it. And now we have peace in the Middle East!
We’ll see if the truce holds, but the next issue I’m about to raise suggests that things will remain dicey for some time.
That’s because the other factor is Kushner Shores, which, thankfully, remains a satirical figment of my imagination, but very much a part of the Trump Middle Eastern manifesto.
In February 2025, Trump proposed that the U.S. take administrative control of the Gaza Strip.7
His larger plan included the full removal of Gaza residents so that they could be replaced with a “Riviera of the Middle East.” American-owned and operated, of course.
In other words, Kushner Shores.
Or…
To accomplish this, Gazans would need to leave that part of Palestine. Specifically, he said, in full word salad format that needs a translation from a professional linguist:8
Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the (U.S.) owning (Gaza), developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent.
I envision a world — people living there, the world’s people. I think you’ll make that into an international, unbelievable place. I think the potential in the Gaza Strip is unbelievable. And I think the entire world, representatives from all over the world will be there and they’ll — And they’ll live there. Palestinians also. Palestinians will live there, many people will live there. But they’ve tried the other and they’ve tried it for decades and decades and decades. It’s not going to work. It didn’t work. It will never work. And you have to learn from history. History has — you know, you just can’t let it keep repeating itself.
We have an opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal. And I don’t want to be cute. I don’t want to be a wise guy. But the Riviera of the Middle East, this could be something that could be so —
This could be so magnificent. But more importantly than that is the people that have been absolutely destroyed that live there now can live in peace in a much better situation because they are living in hell. And those people will now be able to live in peace. We’ll make sure that it’s done world class.
It will be wonderful for the people. Palestinians, Palestinians mostly we’re talking about. And I have a feeling that despite them saying no, I have a feeling that the king in Jordan and that the general president — but that the general in Egypt will open their hearts and will give us the kind of land that we need to get this done, and people can live in harmony and in peace.
Of course, this kind of plan is nonsense. Huge numbers of Gazans are the grandchildren of the Nakba, which is what locals call the 1948 forced exodus from their homes when Israel was established by a UN mandate. They won’t go anywhere without a fight, even though all that is left of their current home is rubble.
For now, Trump is not suggesting that Gazans be forced out. But they certainly don’t have a lot of places to go now that their homes are mostly rebar and broken stones. He has suggested in the past (see the quote above) that Jordan and Egypt accept Palestinians into their countries.
The final analysis, which will be ignored by the corporate press, is that this is all about Trump grift.
We will discover soon enough how the grift will be implemented, assuming Netanyahu can resist more slaughter.
Thanks for reading!
Check out the Peace Plan in its entirety:
The Full 21 Point Peace Plan
As you can imagine, it’s doubtful that Trump is familiar with any of the details of the plan worked out by negotiators, because he doesn’t read. That said, here is the plan in all its glory, as parsed by the Times of Israel.9
The 21 Point Peace Plan, directly quoted from the Times of Israel:
1. Gaza will be a de-radicalized, terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors.
2. Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of its people.
3. If Israel and Hamas agree to the proposal, the war will immediately end, with the IDF halting all operations and gradually withdrawing from the Strip.
4. Within 48 hours of Israel publicly accepting the deal, all living and deceased hostages will be returned.
5. Once the hostages are returned, Israel will free several hundred Palestinian security prisoners serving life sentences and over 1,000 Gazans arrested since the start of the war, along with the bodies of several hundred Palestinians.
6. Once the hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful coexistence will be granted amnesty, while members who wish to leave the Strip will be granted safe passage to receiving countries.
7. Once this agreement is reached, aid will surge into the Strip at rates no lower than the benchmarks set in the January 2025 hostage deal, which included 600 trucks of aid per day, along with the rehabilitation of critical infrastructure and the entry of equipment for removing rubble.
8. Aid will be distributed — without interference from either side — by the United Nations and the Red Crescent, along with other international organizations not associated with either Israel or Hamas.
9. Gaza will be administered by a temporary, transitional government of Palestinian technocrats who will be responsible for providing day-to-day services for the people of the Strip. The committee will be supervised by a new international body established by the US in consultation with Arab and European partners. It will establish a framework for funding the redevelopment of Gaza until the Palestinian Authority has completed its reform program.
10. An economic plan will be created to rebuild Gaza through the convening of experts with experience in constructing modern Middle East cities and through the consideration of existing plans aimed at attracting investments and creating jobs.
11. An economic zone will be established, with reduced tariffs and access rates to be negotiated by participating countries.
12. No one will be forced to leave Gaza, but those who choose to leave will be allowed to return. Moreover, Gazans will be encouraged to remain in the Strip and offered an opportunity to build a better future there.
13. Hamas will have no role in Gaza’s governance whatsoever. There will be a commitment to destroy and stop building any offensive military infrastructure, including tunnels. Gaza’s new leaders will commit to peaceful coexistence with their neighbors.
14. A security guarantee will be provided by regional partners to ensure that Hamas and other Gaza factions comply with their obligations and that Gaza ceases to pose a threat to Israel or its own people.
15. The US will work with Arab and other international partners to develop a temporary international stabilization force that will immediately deploy in Gaza to oversee security in the Strip. The force will develop and train a Palestinian police force, which will serve as a long-term internal security body.
16. Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza, and the IDF will gradually hand over territory it currently occupies, as the replacement security forces establish control and stability in the Strip.
17. If Hamas delays or rejects this proposal, the above points will proceed in terror-free areas, which the IDF will gradually hand over to the international stabilization force.
18. Israel agrees not to carry out future strikes in Qatar. The US and the international community acknowledge Doha’s important mediating role in the Gaza conflict.
19. A process will be established to de-radicalize the population. This will include an interfaith dialogue aimed at changing mindsets and narratives in Israel and Gaza.
20. When Gaza’s redevelopment has been advanced and the PA reform program has been implemented, the conditions may be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian statehood, which is recognized as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.
21. The US will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful coexistence.
Notes
I satirized the Kushner Shores concept recently here:
Apologies if you’ve seen it and would rather not see it again.
For the vision impaired:
Alt Text for brochure:
Headline for brochure: Introducing Kushner Shores
Image of futuristic buildings on a beach with a Trump hotel
Copy underneath image: The World’s Most Haunted Beachfront
Combining the unique history of a vanquished nation with the unbridled, gold-plated capitalism of another, Kushner Shores offers unprecedented delights.
Nothing is ever set in stone with the likes of Netanyahu, whose government reminded Gazans three hours after the mad clown announced the peace deal that Israeli troops continued to occupy the territory and were still technically at war with Hamas and, by unspoken extension, Gazan civilians.
Halbfinger, David M, Liam Stack, Aaron Boxerman, Adam Rasgon, John Yoon, Gabby Sobelman, Rawan Sheikh Ahmad, et al. 2025. “Israel-Hamas Deal Paves Way for Gaza Cease-Fire: Live Updates.” The New York Times, October 9, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10/09/world/israel-hamas-gaza-ceasefire?smid=url-share#f308b98a-5d8a-50b7-8d2a-6006591a304a.
Halbfinger, David M, Liam Stack, Aaron Boxerman, Adam Rasgon, John Yoon, Gabby Sobelman, Rawan Sheikh Ahmad, et al. 2025. “Israel-Hamas Deal Paves Way for Gaza Cease-Fire: Live Updates.” The New York Times, October 9, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10/09/world/israel-hamas-gaza-ceasefire/timeline.
A sovereign fund is sort of a government’s own private investment firm.
Plummer, Kate. 2025. “Trump’s Qatar Nexus: The Officials with Close Ties to the Middle East State.” Newsweek. May 16, 2025. https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-administration-qatar-links-2072706.
Sledge, Matt. 2025. “How Many Trump Officials Have Taken Money from Qatar?” The Intercept. February 11, 2025. https://theintercept.com/2025/02/11/trump-qatar-ethics-patel-zeldin-bondi/.
Adams, Paul. 2025. “Why Does Donald Trump Want to Take over Gaza and Could He Do It?” Bbc.com. BBC News. February 5, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn4z32y12jpo.
Staff, National Post. 2025. “‘Riviera of the Middle East’: Everything Trump Said about His Plan to Take over Gaza.” Nationalpost. National Post. February 5, 2025. https://nationalpost.com/news/world/israel-middle-east/donald-trump-benjamin-netanyahu-israel-gaza.
“Revealed: US 21-Point Plan for Ending Gaza War, Creating Pathway to Palestinian State.” 2025. Timesofisrael.com. 2025. https://www.timesofisrael.com/revealed-us-21-point-plan-for-ending-gaza-war-creating-pathway-to-palestinian-state/.
I’m going to call this “The 25 Points of Magical Thinking”. Grift doesn’t even begin to describe the possibilities for the potential benefactors - Netanyahu, Kushner, tRumpf, Qatar’s royal family, and various tRumpf cronies. Notice I don’t include the citizens of Gaza and Hamas. Qatar will see to it Hamas is left comfortable. The citizens of Gaza, if lucky at best will become the indentured share croppers. There will be plenty of reconstruction contracts paid out to tRumpf and Kushner cronies and well connected Israelis. And let’s not forget Gaza’s water and most of its electricity is supplied by Israel. What I’m really waiting to see discovered, years after the fact, in the secret dealings of money and security is something way bigger, corrupt, and illegal than Reagan’s arms for hostages and Iran-Contra. It’s already reported that tRumpf is giving Qatar the equivalent of NATO Article 5 security. Imagine the headline “American Air and Ground Troops to Protect Qatar from American Weapon Supplied Israeli Attack.”
That's the plan.