Policy Recommendations for the Trump Administration and the 119th Congress

Key Findings:

Pragmatic and implementable initiatives that stabilize areas of conflict while creating a foundation for new diplomatic and political horizons:

U.S.-Israel Security Assistance

-Remove the annual cap on the War Reserve Stockpile Allies-Israel program so that Israel has better access to emergency weapons stores. The U.S. should also increase the stockpile of weapons that DoD currently stores in-country to prevent delays during emergency situations.

-Create Israeli-Jordanian-PA task force to combat arms smuggling from Jordan. This task force should coordinate a combined approach to combating arms smuggling that encompasses the point of origin in Iran, transit points throughout the region, and the ultimate destination in the West Bank.

-Expand USSC mission to train Gaza security force. The priority for Gaza after the war will be basic law and order, requiring a civil police force composed of Palestinians and other regional actors.

-Strategically design the next U.S.-Israel MoU to cement the U.S.-Israel security relationship and strengthen Israeli self-reliance. The MoU should renew U.S. commitment to Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge, gradually reduce Israeli dependence, and clearly articulate how security assistance to Israel benefits the U.S.

West Bank Security

-Reestablish the Trump plan as a framework for moving forward rather than unilateral West Bank annexation. An eventual final-status agreement that provides Israel with secure and recognized borders and the Palestinians with sovereignty should remain U.S. policy.

-Leverage U.S. support to effect genuine PA reforms. Specific objectives include ending prisoner and martyr payments, improving financial transparency, strengthening judicial independence, security-sector reform, and a credible horizon for elections.

-Renew differentiated U.S. approach to settlements and prevent annexation that hinders separation. The U.S. could push for a settlement freeze in areas that undermine Palestinian contiguity, while scaling back opposition to construction in areas consistent with potential land swaps envisioned in a viable negotiated solution.

-Hold Israelis and Palestinians accountable for violence against civilians in the West Bank. Despite revoking EO 14115, the Trump administration should leverage the threat of reimposing sanctions against both Israeli and Palestinian extremists, focusing on unaffiliated actors not covered by existing authorities, to disincentivize violence and lawlessness in the West Bank.

Gaza

-Prioritize getting to all three phases of the ceasefire. The U.S. should sustain its supreme efforts to secure the initial hostage deal and prioritize getting the parties to phase two in order to successfully implement a day-after transition plan.

-Support Saudi- and Emirati-led counter-radicalization. In the wake of October 7, any successful political process between Israel and the Palestinians will require narrowing the trust deficit that Israelis have about Palestinian radicalism.

-Create a separate, short-term Gaza stabilization administration. The PA is currently ill-equipped to assume control of Gaza, but should nonetheless be incorporated into a transitional framework to advance eventual Palestinian reunification.

-Launch a Gaza day-after process and create an umbrella framework to begin recovery followed by reconstruction. This will enable the process to move ahead swiftly now that a ceasefire is in place, rather than having to wait for administrative details and logistics to be negotiated before a day-after plan is implemented.

-Ensure no Israeli settlements in Gaza. Though less likely following the signing of the ceasefire/hostage agreement, the U.S. should publicly declare and privately reiterate directly to the Israeli government that it will not countenance Israeli settlements in Gaza, and that future U.S. assistance in organizing and funding post-war plans for Gaza is contingent on an inviolable Israeli pledge not to abet settlements in Gaza and to immediately act against efforts to establish them.

Regional Security and Integration

-Resume U.S.-Saudi discussions on normalization in return for Israeli commitments on the Palestinian front. Progress on Israel-Saudi normalization will require Israel to forgo unilateral West Bank annexation and to support eventual PA administration of Gaza.

-Leverage U.S. support to improve effectiveness of the U.N. and restore workable U.N.-Israel ties. The U.S. should lead a rapprochement process between the two sides to ensure they can maintain cooperation in areas of shared interest.

-Hold all parties accountable to terms of the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire. Capitalizing on Lebanon’s recent election of President Joseph Aoun, the U.S. should work with Israel and the Lebanese Armed Forces to prevent Hezbollah’s reconstitution in southern Lebanon.