'Peace Through Strength': Trump's Gaza Plan Gains Global Backing One Year On
Donald Trump's Board of Peace excludes UNRWA from Gaza's future as the EU pledges $1 billion and demilitarization efforts gain global momentum.
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It's been a year since US President Donald Trump made history by brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, launching an ambitious peace plan aimed at bringing lasting stability to the region.
In the days and months since the implementation of the cease-fire and Trump's 20-point peace plan, developments have been championed from around the world—including from unexpected quarters.
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"The unlock was someone who came in and really knew the case because they had the opportunity to read it and understand it," Grunbaum said. Trump and his team, including US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Wittkoff, US Special Envoy for Peace Jared Kushner and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, "developed working relationships with trusted regional actors that were overlaid with peace through power" and also forced Hamas to finally understand that "it was either end this or there was a very hard way for them." The dignified way, which was the 20-point plan."
He said this was achieved "by building a consensus around the world, including in Europe, that this is the only game in town. It's the only pragmatic approach to stop this." Grunbaum added that a particular strength of the Peace Corps "has been cultivating really strong relationships with the United Nations."
In November 2025, the United Nations approved the Peace Council through Resolution 2803.
Before meeting with President Trump at the White House, Prime Minister Netanyahu signed with Foreign Minister Rubio as a member of the peace delegation. (@IsraeliPM)
At a high-level meeting at the Peace Council in September, the EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean and Demography, Dubravka Šuica, announced that the EU had "raised around $1 billion for the early recovery of Gaza" and would sign recovery projects with UNDP and UNICEF. "We are doing this in line with the priorities of the Peace Council and the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG)," Suica said.
In defense of the agency's mission, the US is asking donors to stop funding UNRWA.
The International Stabilization Force, which will train the future police force in Gaza and oversee demilitarization, has received commitments from Kazakhstan, Morocco, Albania and Kosovo, and other countries are said to be in the pipeline for acceptance.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is notably absent from Gaza's future, according to the Peace Council plan. The peace panel is clear that UNRWA will have no involvement in Gaza. One US agency, USAID's Office of Inspector General, is currently investigating more than 1,500 UNRWA employees for involvement in terrorist groups.
In X, the Peace Corps recently announced that it would "only work with trusted partners who provide services to the people of Gaza and help a radicalized strip," stressing that "UNRWA is failing these litmus tests."
The Peace Corps effort is getting support from unlikely corners. Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote in a June editorial in the Financial Times that while the plan "wasn't one that many of us would have drafted," she believed it was "the only framework supported by enough leverage, political participation and potential resources to move the parties toward implementation."
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In the year ahead, the Peace Council must overcome a number of obstacles, including the complete demilitarization and deradicalization of Hamas in Gaza. Grunbaum says the peace panel is "realistic and vigilant," but also "is in a historic place with Hamas," securing verbal agreements and offering a path to amnesty for those who qualify.
Grunbaum also says the 20-point plan is the best path forward for Hamas, and regional dynamics leave them with few options. Mediators are increasingly backing the Peace Council, Tehran is focused on its current war and Israel continues to press, though Grunbaum says the Peace Council continues to insist they must abide by the ceasefire.
Hamas terrorists carrying clubs and firearms secure and divert humanitarian aid trucks in the Jabaliyah area of northern Gaza in June. 25 (TPS-IL)
Eradication will never be a top-down process by the United States, Grunbaum said, but will be managed through NCAG. NCAG members "have children who grew up under the current UNRWA system," so "they understand the situation," he said. This approach involves a new technocrat government whose members have extensive experience in the civil service and takes the lead in "appointing teachers" and "inspecting those involved in civil governance."
Grunbaum celebrated the potential of bringing NCAG and Israeli officials together through the transformation of Gaza. This is a historic opportunity for the Palestinian people of Gaza, where their governing body will be uniquely focused on providing services to their constituents, and if we can build this wonderful relationship where we build trust between Israel and NCAG, we will deliver on both sides of the equation - security for Israel and freedom and a better life, autonomy and prosperity within a trust-building Gaza system.
Grunbaum added that successes in Gaza could lead to successes elsewhere. "Maybe these best practices will be learned by the Palestinian Authority. Maybe Israel will start to trust more different people in the system. I think this is a great moment in the history of the Middle East."