ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Tuesday welcomed a peace proposal laid out by US President Donald Trump, to bring an end to the conflict in Gaza, while commending the American president’s “leadership” for the initiative.

The US president and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday announced their agreement on a peace plan for the Gaza Strip, soon entering its third year of Israeli military occupation.

Consisting of 20 points, the Trump-proposed plan was released as the pair held a joint presser in the White House, with Trump saying that the initiative obtaining final approval from all parties is "beyond close."

The Kurdish leader on Tuesday joined scores of regional and international leaders in hailing the move. “I welcome President [Donald Trump]’s Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict and commend his leadership,” said Barzani in a post on X.

“I encourage all parties to engage constructively in dialogue and demonstrate the spirit of compromise in the interest of achieving lasting peace, security, and prosperity for the people of the region,” wrote the Kurdistan Region president.

With Barzani’s statement, the Kurdistan Region joins a multitude of regional actors in welcoming the proposal, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Jordan, the UAE, Egypt, and Pakistan, who welcomed the proposal in a joint statement on Monday.

The countries reiterated their readiness to “cooperate positively and constructively with the US and the relevant parties to complete the agreement and ensure its implementation, in a manner that guarantees peace, security, and stability for the peoples of the region.”

The new proposal comes six months after a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas broke down with an Israeli strike on March 18, with Netanyahu’s office citing "Hamas' repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators,” as the grounds for the attack.

The current plan would see an immediate ceasefire, the phased withdrawal of the Israeli military from the Strip, and the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, before progressing into a longer-term security plan that involves the disarmament of the Palestinian militant group.

“This is the closest we've ever come to real peace,” the US president told reporters.

Netanyahu, for his part, expressed great enthusiasm for the proposal, lavishing praise on Trump and stressing that the plan "achieves our war aims."

A copy of the proposal published by the White House states as its fourth point: "Within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned."

The plan has been disseminated to Arab and regional leaders and awaits a response from Hamas, who are expected to accept not having "any role in the governance of Gaza, directly, indirectly, or in any form" under the US initiative.

"If Hamas rejects your plan, Mr. President, or if they supposedly accept it and then basically do everything to counter it, then Israel will finish the job by itself. This can be done the easy way, or it can be done the hard way, but it will be done," Netanyahu told Trump at the presser.

Israel's offensive in Gaza has killed over 66,000 people, most of whom are civilians, according to Gaza's health ministry, with growing international backlash, perhaps most salient in a torrent of recognition of Palestinian statehood by Western countries in recent times, placing pressure on Israel and its allies to bring a halt to the bloodshed.