Hamas weapons and West Bank chaos risk breaking Trump’s peace plan

Published December 22, 2025 12:41pm ET



A ceasefire is just about holding, but the second phase of President Donald Trump‘s peace plan between Israel and Hamas is fraying under two pressure points.

The first and most preeminent problem is Hamas’s refusal to surrender its heavy weapons in Gaza. The expanding influence of far-right Israeli settler interests in the West Bank poses the second challenge. If Trump cannot resolve these issues, violence will recommence, and his peace plan will implode. That would be a disaster for Israeli and Palestinian civilians, Israel’s diplomatic standing, and both Trump and the U.S.’s credibility with foreign allies.

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