There are two broad areas in which Donald Trump’s new 20-point plan aimed at “eternal peace” differs from his earlier interventions on resolving the nearly three-year war in Gaza.One, Palestinians will not be forced to leave Gaza and instead, the document released by the White House said: “We will encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza.”Two, the new plan ostensibly keeps alive the possibility of a credible pathway to Palestinian self determination and statehood, something Netanyahu has consistently opposed.The plan, at least outwardly and in the context of Trump’s earlier utterances on the approach to resolving the crisis in Gaza, does appear to be more balanced and seems to suggest his continuing involvement to see the peace deal through.Implementation of peaceTrump’s 20-point plan, which shrunk from 21 points, calls for an immediate end to the war and return of the hostages by both sides within three days. And for the first time, it lays out in some detail the future of a post war Gaza, and lists out a ‘board of peace’ to oversee the implementation, headed by Trump himself.The announcement of the plan comes just days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked the recognition of a Palestinian state by European countries during a stinging speech at the UN General Assembly. Netanyahu will have full US backing to “do what he has to do” if Hamas does not agree to the plan. Announced with Netanyahu right next to him in the Oval Office, Trump’s new plan that seems to push to commit to the ceasefire plan has also reportedly been endorsed by the leaders of some Arab and Muslim countries.Festering issuesThe three big questions now are whether Hamas will agree to a proposal that requires them to cede power and their weapons; whether Netanyahu can get his extremist right-wing allies in the Israeli government on board, and whether Trump, who would be chairman of Gaza’s reconstruction board, is really willing to commit to this peace deal, given that this will certainly be a long haul.Story continues below this adCBS News quoted a White House official as saying that the Qatari Prime Minister (Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani) and an Egyptian intelligence chief have met with Hamas negotiators and presented Trump’s 20 point proposal.If Hamas were to reject this deal, Trump has given Israel the go ahead to carry on with and to “finish” the war. Interestingly, during the course of the Oval Office meeting, Netanyahu was asked to call the Prime Minister of Qatar to apologise for launching an earlier air attack, which targeted Hamas leadership. According to CBS, the White House said that during the call, Netanyahu acknowledged Israel violated Qatari sovereignty and said it would not happen again.The 20-point plan still lacks details, timelines and maps, a reason why President Trump did not take questions, despite the Oval Office event Monday being listed as a press conference. That, according to experts, is because there are so many outstanding details that are yet to be filled in about how to implement this plan.Divided opinionsAccording to Dalia Ziada, Senior Fellow on Middle East & Mediterranean Geopolitics at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, Trump’s peace plan in Gaza “is more of a comprehensive vision for the future of Israel-Palestinian and Israel-Arab relations” than it is a ceasefire deal.Story continues below this ad“This is the first time a deal about Gaza is framed for negotiations between Israel and the Arab-Islamic bloc without making it conditional on Hamas’ approval. This will enable the voices of non-Hamas Gazans to be represented accurately for the first time,” Zaida said in a post on X.The downsides, however, include the proposed plan is “full of vague articles that beg deeper discussions on implementation and limitations” and “the involvement and responsibility of Arab countries are still minimal”.According to Howard Beckett, a former assistant general secretary at UK-based left-leaning Unite the Union, “the ‘peace deal’ is nothing more than a carve up of Gaza”.