‘Significant first step’: Hillary Clinton praises Trump administration for Israel-Hamas peace deal

The former secretaries of state Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice on Friday praised President Donald Trump for successfully facilitating the early stages of a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamasin Gaza.

Both diplomats served in opposite administrations (Clinton under Barack Obama and Rice under George W. Bush), highlighted Trump's decision as a first significant breakthrough on a conflict that has lasted two years.

“It’s a really significant first step, and I really commend President Trump and his administration, as well as Arab leaders in the region, for making the commitment to the 20-point plan and seeing a path forward for what’s often called the day after,” Clinton told CBS News in an interview with journalist Norah O'Donnell.

“Most importantly, the conflict hopefully will end with the ceasefire”, she added, emphasizing the urgency of implementing the initial phases.

The agreement, engineered by the Trump administration and supported by Egypt and Qatar, represents the first phase of a 20-point peace plan aimed at ending the war sparked by the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

Under the terms, the Israeli Army will withdraw to an agreed line in the Gaza Strip, cease its military attacks and release 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. In return, Hamas will release all the hostages with the expectation that dozens will return to their families as of Sunday.

The Trump administration negotiated a framework that would eventually culminate in the handover of Gaza to an independent Palestinian body: a "technocratic committee" without the direct involvement of Hamas or, for now, the Palestinian Authority.

Condoleezza Rice, for her part, expressed optimism about the peace plan, but warned about the historical complexities of the region. "No one can be completely confident” of the agreement's ability to permanently stabilize the Middle East "given the history of the Middle East", she told O'Donnell.

However, she added: “But I will say there are several elements that I hope will make this particular, very important period possible for success.”

On the Palestinian Authority

Rice stressed the need for reforms in the Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank, but lost Gaza in 2006. “The Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank, lost control of Gaza after 2006, has not really been reformed in a long time. And it needs reform,” she said. “It needs younger blood,” she said, suggesting involving Palestinians from outside to forge a "new generation of leadership." "The Palestinian people have to own this solution", she stressed.

Clinton, for her part, shared similar doubts about long-term viability, particularly in eradicating the influence of Hamas, a terrorist group backed by Iran.

“I have no confidence that Hamas is in any way reformed or, you know, ready to look for a better future for the people of Gaza or the Palestinians as a whole,” she said. "And so, we do have to be extremely careful in how they are decommissioned, how they are rounded up.”