Trump’s plan for Gaza is ambitious but peace is far from guaranteed

The US president has won regional backing, but Hamas's response and Israel's intentions leave the outcome in doubt

At first glance, the 20-point plan outlined by President Trump and agreed by Benjamin Netanyahu appears more likely to end the two-year conflict in Gaza than anything we have seen so far. Trump has sunk a lot of political capital in bringing peace to the Middle East after thousands of years", as he put it. There is apparent deep and wide regional support and, seemingly, that of the Israeli prime minister.

But this is less a detailed roadmap than a rough back of an envelope sketch that allows an equal chance of getting badly lost as reaching the desired destination.