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The respite resulting from the end of fighting in Gaza is profound. Across Israel, the release of surviving detainees has sparked extensive joy. In Gaza and the West Bank, celebrations have commenced as up to 2,000 Palestinian detainees start to be released – although concern persists due to uncertainty about the identities of those released and their eventual placements. Across northern Gaza, people can finally go back to dig through rubble for the remains of an approximated 10,000 unaccounted-for individuals.

Peace Breakthrough Despite Prior Uncertainty

Just three weeks ago, the probability of a ceasefire appeared remote. However it has come into force, and on Monday Donald Trump journeyed from Jerusalem, where he was applauded in the Knesset, to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. There, he participated in a high-powered peace conference of more than 20 world leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer. The plan for peace launched at that summit is scheduled to proceed at a meeting in the UK. The US president, cooperating with international partners, managed to secure this deal come to fruition – contrary to, not due to, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Dreams of Independence Tempered by Past Precedents

Aspirations that the deal represents the first step toward Palestinian statehood are understandable – but, given past occurrences, somewhat optimistic. It provides no definite route to sovereignty for Palestinians and endangers separating, for the foreseeable future, Gaza from the West Bank. Additionally the complete destruction this war has caused. The omission of any timeframe for Palestinian autonomy in the presidential proposal contradicts boastful mentions, in his Knesset speech, to the “epochal beginning” of a “era of prosperity”.

The US president could not resist sowing division and personalising the deal in his speech.

In a period of respite – with the freeing of captives, ceasefire and resumption of aid – he chose to recast it as a ethical drama in which he exclusively reclaimed Israel’s honor after purported disloyalty by former US presidents Obama and Biden. This despite the Biden administration a year ago having undertaken a analogous arrangement: a cessation of hostilities connected with humanitarian access and eventual political talks.

Meaningful Agency Essential for Sustainable Agreement

A plan that withholds one side genuine autonomy cannot yield legitimate peace. The truce and aid trucks are to be embraced. But this is still not diplomatic advancement. Without mechanisms securing Palestinian involvement and command over their own institutions, any deal endangers perpetuating subjugation under the language of peace.

Aid Necessities and Reconstruction Challenges

Gaza’s people urgently require humanitarian aid – and sustenance and pharmaceuticals must be the primary focus. But rebuilding should not be postponed. Amid 60 million tonnes of wreckage, Palestinians need support restoring residences, educational facilities, hospitals, religious buildings and other establishments shattered by Israel’s invasion. For Gaza’s transitional administration to succeed, funding must flow quickly and safety deficiencies be filled.

Like a great deal of the president's diplomatic proposal, mentions to an global peacekeeping unit and a suggested “board of peace” are worryingly ambiguous.

International Support and Prospective Outcomes

Strong international support for the Palestinian leadership, enabling it to succeed Hamas, is perhaps the most encouraging possibility. The tremendous pain of the recent period means the ethical argument for a resolution to the conflict is arguably more pressing than ever. But while the ceasefire, the repatriation of the hostages and pledge by Hamas to “remove weapons from” Gaza should be recognized as constructive moves, the president's record provides scant basis to trust he will deliver – or feel bound to endeavor. Short-term relief does not imply that the possibility of a Palestinian state has been advanced.