Afrasianet - Dr. Hisham Okal - At  the moment when the world was preoccupied with Trump's plan to end the war in Ukraine, the most dangerous details were creeping out of the lines rather than from within the document itself.

The plan that Witkov and Kushner had drafted in closed sessions with Kirill Dmitriev, the man whose name shone in every dark corner of Moscow-Washington relations. It revealed something bigger than just trying to "put out a war."

The plan seemed closer to a new architecture of the international system by excluding the U.S. State Department, bypassing NATO, and encircling the Europeans.

But in the midst of all this, media leaks emerged that posed a question heavier than its size. Is Witkov preparing to jump from Kiev to Gaza? Or is the expected meeting between him and Hamas leader Khalil al-Haya just a side note? Or the front page of the upcoming Middle East deal? 

The story of a plan and 28 items... A kitchen without the transparency of the U.S.-Ukraine plan was built in two rooms. The first is in Miami with Dmitriev.

The second is in the White House with Trump's tight team. As for the US State Department. Nato. Europeans. And the Ukrainians themselves. They were just late readers of the document. The problem wasn't just with the items. 

A special exemption for Dmitriev's entry despite sanctions. The exclusion of Ukraine's official envoy. And a direct threat to Zelensky that he will have to choose between losing dignity or losing an ally.

The result. A plan that looks like it's written in the Kremlin's side room with an American signature at the end of the page.

The Engineering of the International System: From Kiev to Gaza? 

Why is the Ukraine file suddenly intertwined with the Gaza file, and why is the international press pointing to the possibility of a meeting between Witkov and Haya in the near future, despite the lack of official confirmation?

The new American logic for Donald Trump is based on a clear premise. Close the fronts. Move the pieces. And start with the Middle East order before Moscow, Tehran, and Ankara arrange it.

By this logic, the Palestinian file becomes a natural extension of what is happening in Ukraine. Not the other way around.  If he meets and retreats with the serpent... What does that mean?

So far there is no confirmed information. However, the mere nomination of this meeting in the media reveals three strategic paths.

1) Containing Hamas, not overthrowing it: Washington's history has taught us that those who want to end an armed movement do not send it to it and stop it. Rather, they send military force or the green light to it.

Sending Trump's dealer man, if it happens, means something else. Shifting enthusiasm from a face-to-face player to an invested player. Just like it happened with other factions in the region. From war to security partnership to the economy.

2) Handing over the keys to Gaza to the U.S.-Arab alliance It's no secret that the past and current Trump administrations are thinking of Gaza as the basis of an economic project before it's a political issue. According to many leaks, it resembles the next project.

An area that helps rebuild versus calm. and an economic corridor. and civilian life without heavy weapons. And the survival of those who agree with the idea of coexistence. In return, the deportation or neutralization of armed elements who reject the new path is deported.

The meeting, if it takes place, will put Hamas in front of a moment similar to that of Hezbollah after 2006. Either hand over the decision of war to the state. Or exit the political scene.

3) The end of the Palestinian cause... Or the beginning of a period without weapons? This is where the most serious question comes in. Is what is happening an attempt to liquidate the Palestinian cause?

Or is it an attempt to reformulate it according to a new balance? Israel wants Gaza weak. The Arabs want a stable Gaza economically. America wants Gaza without heavy weapons. Europe wants to prevent migration and extremism.

The people in Gaza just want to stay alive. If we put these interests on top of each other, one path emerges. Gaza without weapons. Without armed resistance. And without the ability to impose an independent political reality.

This path is explained. Why is the Gaza file now linked to the Ukraine file? And why is Washington pressuring Kyiv to sign an agreement that ends one front before opening the other?

From Kyiv to Gaza: The world is changing Trump wants. End the war in Ukraine. Stop Russia's expansion. Control of Iran. Re-engineering the Middle East. And to write the Gaza agreement before Moscow or Beijing arrives in the Strip.

But this time he wants to do all of that without Europe. And without the traditional American institutions. The same way. A small room. A tight team. Deals written in the shadows and then imposed on the players.

Conclusion of a sharp angle: The question of the future is whether Whitkov has formulated the Ukraine plan with Dmitriev away from the US State Department. If the man himself is a candidate to meet the serpent based on media nominations.

The question becomes. Will the Palestinians be asked to sign between two options, as the Ukrainians were asked? Loss of dignity.

Or loss of ally? That's the question that will determine what the post-2025 Middle East will look likeز

Dr. Hisham Okal – Professor of Crisis Management and International Relationsز