TEL AVIV
\nIsrael\u2019s far-right finance minister on Tuesday slammed a peace plan unveiled by US Donald Trump and backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a day earlier to end the nearly two-year war in Gaza.
\nIn a long post on X, Bezalel Smotrich called the plan \u201ca resounding diplomatic failure, a closing of eyes and turning our backs on all the lessons of October 7,\u201d referring to Hamas\u00b4s October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war. \u201cIn my estimation, it will also end in tears. Our children will be forced to fight in Gaza again,\u201d he added.
\nMeanwhile, China said Tuesday that it \u201csupports all efforts\u201d for a de-escalation in Gaza after US President Donald Trump presented a new plan to end the war to Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. \u201cChina welcomes and supports all efforts conducive to easing tensions between Palestine and Israel,\u201d foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular press briefing.
\nIn a related development, Turkiye appears to have deployed drones to monitor the Global Sumud Flotilla, according to flight tracking data reviewed by Al Jazeera. The flotilla has already drawn the attention of Spain, Italy and Greece. Now, publicly available flight data shows that three long-endurance drones originating from Turkiye\u2019s Corlu airbase have circled above the flotilla for three consecutive days.
\nNeither Turkiye\u2019s foreign ministry, defence ministry nor its national intelligence agency responded to requests for comment. A UN housing expert has expressed worries regarding the \u201cland grabs\u201d outlined in Trump\u2019s Gaza plan. Balakrishnan Rajagopal, the UN special rapporteur on the right to housing, highlighted concerns over aspects of the proposal, particularly the suggested creation of a \u201cpermanent buffer zone.\u201d
\n\u201cThis so-called \u2018peace plan\u2019 by Trump and Netanyahu is abominable on so many levels,\u201d Rajagopal posted on social media. \u201cAmong the worst: a \u2018transitional authority\u2019 headed by the war criminal Tony Blair [and] land grabs through a permanent buffer zone. Palestinians must drive this process!\u201d
\nBritish Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed US President Donald Trump\u2019s efforts to end the war in Gaza with a new plan. \u201cWe call on all sides to come together and to work with the US Administration to finalise this agreement and bring it into reality. Hamas should now agree to the plan and end the misery, by laying down their arms and releasing all remaining hostages.\u201d Starmer said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TEL AVIV Israel\u2019s far-right finance minister on Tuesday slammed a peace plan unveiled by US Donald Trump and backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a day earlier to end the nearly two-year war in Gaza. In a long post on X, Bezalel Smotrich called the plan \u201ca resounding diplomatic failure, a closing of eyes and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":506031,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-506011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n