Since President Donald Trump launched what has become known as the 20-Point Plan to end the genocidal war in the Gaza Strip and, as he claimed, bring peace to the entire Middle East, everyone has been clamoring for the details of the delicate negotiations taking place between the relevant parties in Sharm el-Sheikh, seeking to begin the realistic and practical implementation of the plan's provisions in its first phase. This phase is the easiest, and involves the release of all hostages, both living and dead.
Commentators and officials' reactions varied, ranging from praising the plan to criticizing it, to skeptical of its feasibility. This disparity stems from the conflicting goals of the plan's stakeholders, including the right-wing Israeli government, armed Palestinian resistance movements, Arab and Islamic states, and the United States.
Amid the rush to detail, the discussion has largely overlooked the intellectual framework that paved the way for Trump's plan. It is well known that every plan requires an intellectual framework to envelop it, a convincing justification for its supporters, and pragmatism to be imposed on its enemies. The so-called Trump plan is no exception. While the plan's provisions appear to support all of Israel's demands and goals, with the exception of the deportation of the population of the Gaza Strip, it reflects an intellectual framework embraced by the most extreme wings of Christian Zionism in the United States.
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The adherents of this movement, known for its unlimited and unconditional support for Israel, are united around broad principles, while showing no concern for the logical and legitimate rights of the Palestinians, even agreed upon by the majority of Israelis. To understand the vision of this movement, the vast majority of whose adherents (some estimate them at more than 50 million Americans) follow the Protestant faith, one must understand the influence of Protestantism on Judaism. This influence has resulted in a coexistence resembling the holy alliance between Protestantism and Judaism in general, creating a more special relationship between Jewish Zionism and fundamentalist Protestantism. The Christian Zionist movement is also characterized by the dominance of the fundamentalist trend (among its most prominent current leaders are Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee), which believes in the necessity of the return of the Jewish people to their Promised Land in Palestine, all of Palestine, and the establishment of a Jewish entity there to pave the way for the second coming of Christ and the establishment of his thousand-year kingdom.
Christian Zionism has been influenced by three movements, united by a background of religious interpretation based on biblical texts. Despite the divergence and sometimes contradiction of these orientations, they are united by a literal interpretation of the Torah and a belief in the necessity of helping Israel. The movements are: one concerned with the issue of the end of the world and its signs; a second concerned with the issue of closeness to Jews for the sake of the Messiah; and a third focused on defending Israel, blessing it, and supporting it in every possible and available way.
This movement has not changed its positions or its hardline stance after the killing of more than 67,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip over the past two years.
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This movement rejects the existence of a Palestinian state within the pre-June 5, 1967, borders, or within any borders that include the lands of historic Palestine. It also rejects the return of refugees and rejects any dialogue regarding the future of Jerusalem. Supporters of this movement reiterate statements such as the idea that continuing to rely on a negotiated diplomatic solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is insane. They also ridicule what is referred to as the Middle East peace process, which, they say, repeats the same old rhetoric, follows the same paths, and expects different results. This refers to the Middle East peace process, which has been ongoing for more than four decades without progress. Supporters of this movement believe that outdated principles, such as land for peace, the two-state solution (a Palestinian state alongside an Israeli state), or East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, have become illusions that require the courage to no longer discuss them. Christian Zionism calls for new thinking to resolve the conflict, far removed from the illusions of the past, so that it is possible to engage with new perspectives and resolve the conflict.
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This movement's logic for resolving conflict stems from a historical perspective of twentieth-century conflicts, which were resolved through clear and unequivocal victories, acknowledged by all parties, and subsequently succeeded in achieving peace. They cite the case of the complete defeat of Germany and Japan in World War II, in which the two countries subsequently enjoyed complete peace after first acknowledging their complete defeat and surrendering to the victors.
As for conflicts and wars that were not resolved with a clear defeat and full recognition of it, peace has not been achieved in them or in their aftermath. By the same logic, Christian Zionist thinkers believe that Israel's failure to decisively achieve its military victories and its failure to push the Palestinians and Arabs to fully and unconditionally acknowledge defeat is what keeps the conflict going endlessly. This movement believes that there is currently a rare opportunity to acknowledge the Palestinian, Arab, and Islamic defeat in the conflict with Israel, after the Gaza Strip was destroyed before their eyes.
This movement believes that the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict should not wait for the resolution of other Middle Eastern issues and conflicts. They believe that the root of the conflict and the heart of the problem is the Palestinian refusal to recognize Israel as an independent Jewish state. They believe that there is no longer any possibility of establishing a Palestinian state, after the Palestinians lost a historic opportunity granted to them between 2000 and 2008. Therefore, this movement calls on the Palestinians to realize that their leaders and the Arab leaders caused their defeat and missed real opportunities for peace. This movement wants the Palestinians to acknowledge the victory of the Israeli project and the defeat of the Palestinian-Arab project. They also want them to acknowledge that there is no place for them in the West Bank or Gaza Strip, and that the alternative to an independent state is rapidly evaporating. If a Palestinian state is necessary, let it be an alternative to Jordan or in the Sinai Peninsula.
The Trump plan includes a critical point that aligns with its intellectual framework, Point 18, which states:"Initiate an interfaith dialogue process based on the values of tolerance and peaceful coexistence, with the aim of changing the prevailing concepts and attitudes among Palestinians and Israelis and emphasizing the benefits that can be achieved through peace."
The essence of this point is the need to distance the conflict from its origins, and the need for Arab and Islamic educational curricula to contribute to convincing new generations of Arab youth and children that the occupation is not the root of the issue.
