🔗 Share this article

The respite resulting from the halt in hostilities in Gaza is immense. Within Israeli borders, the freeing of captives held alive has sparked widespread elation. Across Palestinian territories, celebrations are also underway as up to 2,000 Palestinian prisoners start to be released – even as anguish persists due to uncertainty about which prisoners are returning and where they will be sent. Across northern Gaza, people can finally go back to sift through wreckage for the bodies of an believed 10,000 those who have disappeared.

Truce Development Despite Previous Doubts

Only three weeks ago, the likelihood of a ceasefire appeared remote. But it has come into force, and on Monday Donald Trump departed Jerusalem, where he was hailed in the Knesset, to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. There, he attended a high-level diplomatic gathering of in excess of 20 world leaders, among them Sir Keir Starmer. The peace initiative launched at that summit is due to be continued at a conference in the UK. The US president, acting with international partners, managed to secure this deal take place – despite, not due to, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Palestinian Statehood Hopes Moderated by Historical Realities

Hopes that the deal signifies the initial move toward Palestinian statehood are understandable – but, considering past occurrences, rather hopeful. It provides no definite route to independence for Palestinians and threatens separating, for the immediate period, Gaza from the West Bank. Additionally the complete destruction this war has caused. The absence of any schedule for Palestinian autonomy in the US initiative undermines boastful mentions, in his Knesset speech, to the “epochal beginning” of a “era of prosperity”.

The US president could not help himself dividing and making personal the deal in his speech.

In a time of relief – with the freeing of captives, halt in fighting and renewal of aid – he opted to reframe it as a lesson in ethics in which he exclusively reinstated Israel’s prestige after alleged disloyalty by past US commanders-in-chief Obama and Biden. This despite the Biden administration a year ago having tried a analogous arrangement: a cessation of hostilities linked to humanitarian access and future political talks.

Genuine Autonomy Crucial for Sustainable Agreement

A plan that refuses one side meaningful agency is incapable of delivering legitimate peace. The ceasefire and relief shipments are to be welcomed. But this is not currently political progress. Without mechanisms guaranteeing Palestinian participation and command over their own organizations, any deal risks freezing oppression under the language of peace.

Relief Imperatives and Rebuilding Obstacles

Gaza’s people urgently require relief assistance – and sustenance and pharmaceuticals must be the primary focus. But restoration cannot wait. Within 60 million tonnes of wreckage, Palestinians need support restoring dwellings, educational facilities, healthcare facilities, mosques and other organizations destroyed by Israel’s invasion. For Gaza’s transitional administration to succeed, monetary resources must arrive promptly and protection voids be addressed.

Comparable with a great deal of the president's peace plan, allusions to an global peacekeeping unit and a proposed “diplomatic committee” are disturbingly unclear.

International Support and Prospective Outcomes

Substantial international support for the Palestinian Authority, permitting it to take over from Hamas, is probably the most hopeful prospect. The enormous suffering of the previous 24 months means the ethical argument for a solution to the conflict is possibly more critical than ever. But while the ceasefire, the homecoming of the detainees and vow by Hamas to “demilitarise” Gaza should be recognized as favorable developments, Mr Trump’s record provides scant basis to have faith he will fulfill – or deem himself compelled to attempt. Short-term relief should not be interpreted as that the prospect of a Palestinian state has been advanced.