End of Gaza Conflict Brings Substantial Ease, However Trump's Pledge of a Golden Age Appears Meaningless

The respite resulting from the end of fighting in Gaza is immense. Within Israeli borders, the freeing of captives held alive has led to widespread elation. Throughout Gaza and the West Bank, jubilations have commenced as as many as 2,000 Palestinian inmates start to be released – even as anguish remains due to ambiguity about the identities of those released and their eventual placements. Throughout Gaza's northern regions, people can finally reenter search the debris for the remnants of an approximated 10,000 those who have disappeared.

Ceasefire Emergence Despite Previous Doubts

Only three weeks ago, the chance of a ceasefire appeared remote. Yet it has been implemented, and on Monday Donald Trump journeyed from Jerusalem, where he was applauded in the Knesset, to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. There, he attended a prestigious diplomatic gathering of more than 20 world leaders, among them Sir Keir Starmer. The plan for peace launched at that summit is due to be continued at a meeting in the UK. The US president, acting with international partners, managed to secure this deal happen – contrary to, not due to, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Dreams of Independence Qualified by Previous Experiences

Hopes that the deal signifies the initial move toward Palestinian statehood are understandable – but, given past occurrences, rather hopeful. It lacks a transparent trajectory to independence for Palestinians and threatens splitting, for the foreseeable future, Gaza from the West Bank. Additionally the complete destruction this war leaves behind. The lack of any timeline for Palestinian self-determination in the US initiative contradicts vainglorious mentions, in his Knesset speech, to the “monumental start” of a “golden age”.

The American leader was unable to refrain from polarising and individualizing the deal in his speech.

In a period of respite – with the liberation of detainees, ceasefire and renewal of aid – he chose to recast it as a morality play in which he exclusively reinstated Israel’s dignity after alleged betrayal by former US presidents Obama and Biden. This even as the Biden administration previously having tried a similar deal: a ceasefire connected with relief entry and eventual negotiations.

Substantive Control Vital for Legitimate Peace

A plan that withholds one side genuine autonomy cannot yield legitimate peace. The ceasefire and aid trucks are to be welcomed. But this is still not political progress. Without mechanisms guaranteeing Palestinian involvement and authority over their own organizations, any deal threatens perpetuating subjugation under the language of peace.

Relief Imperatives and Rebuilding Obstacles

Gaza’s people crucially depend on relief assistance – and sustenance and pharmaceuticals must be the initial concern. But rebuilding must not be delayed. Among 60 million tonnes of wreckage, Palestinians need help restoring dwellings, learning institutions, hospitals, religious buildings and other establishments destroyed by Israel’s invasion. For Gaza’s interim government to succeed, financial support must flow quickly and protection voids be remedied.

Like much of Mr Trump’s peace plan, references to an global peacekeeping unit and a recommended “peace council” are alarmingly vague.

International Support and Prospective Outcomes

Strong global backing for the Palestinian leadership, enabling it to replace Hamas, is likely the most encouraging possibility. The immense hardship of the previous 24 months means the humanitarian imperative for a resolution to the conflict is potentially more urgent than ever. But although the ceasefire, the repatriation of the captives and pledge by Hamas to “disarm” Gaza should be accepted as favorable developments, the president's history provides scant basis to believe he will fulfill – or deem himself compelled to try. Temporary ease should not be interpreted as that the possibility of a Palestinian state has been brought closer.