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T respite resulting from the halt in hostilities in Gaza is immense. Within Israeli borders, the freeing of the living hostages has led to extensive joy. In Gaza and the West Bank, celebrations have commenced as up to 2,000 Palestinian prisoners are being freed – even as distress remains due to uncertainty about which prisoners are returning and where they will be sent. Across northern Gaza, people can finally reenter dig through rubble for the bodies of an approximated 10,000 unaccounted-for individuals.

Truce Development Despite Earlier Odds

Only three weeks ago, the chance of a ceasefire seemed unlikely. However it has taken effect, and on Monday Donald Trump travelled from Jerusalem, where he was hailed in the Knesset, to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. There, he attended a high-level peace summit of over 20 world leaders, featuring Sir Keir Starmer. The peace initiative begun there is due to be continued at a assembly in the UK. The US president, acting with international partners, managed to secure this deal happen – despite, not because of, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Dreams of Independence Tempered by Previous Experiences

Hopes that the deal signifies the first step toward Palestinian statehood are comprehensible – but, in light of previous instances, somewhat optimistic. It offers no clear path to sovereignty for Palestinians and endangers splitting, for the foreseeable future, Gaza from the West Bank. Then there is the complete destruction this war has caused. The absence of any schedule for Palestinian autonomy in the presidential proposal contradicts self-aggrandizing references, in his Knesset speech, to the “historic dawn” of a “golden age”.

The American leader could not resist dividing and making personal 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 lesson in ethics in which he exclusively reinstated Israel’s dignity after alleged treachery by past US commanders-in-chief Obama and Biden. This despite the Biden administration twelve months prior having tried a comparable agreement: a cessation of hostilities connected with relief entry and ultimate political talks.

Genuine Autonomy Vital for Legitimate Peace

A plan that withholds one side meaningful agency cannot produce sustainable agreement. The truce and relief shipments are to be embraced. But this is not currently political progress. Without mechanisms guaranteeing Palestinian engagement and command over their own establishments, any deal endangers perpetuating subjugation under the discourse of peace.

Aid Necessities and Reconstruction Challenges

Gaza’s people desperately need relief assistance – and sustenance and pharmaceuticals must be the primary focus. But reconstruction should not be postponed. Among 60 million tonnes of wreckage, Palestinians need assistance restoring dwellings, educational facilities, medical centers, religious buildings and other establishments destroyed by Israel’s military operation. For Gaza’s provisional leadership to succeed, funding must arrive promptly and security gaps be addressed.

Like much of the president's diplomatic proposal, mentions to an multinational security contingent and a proposed “peace council” are alarmingly vague.

International Support and Potential Developments

Substantial international support for the Palestinian leadership, permitting it to succeed Hamas, is probably the most encouraging prospect. The immense hardship of the previous 24 months means the humanitarian imperative for a resolution to the conflict is possibly more critical than ever. But although the ceasefire, the repatriation of the hostages and pledge by Hamas to “demilitarise” Gaza should be accepted as favorable developments, Donald Trump's record provides scant basis to trust he will fulfill – or consider himself obligated to attempt. Short-term relief does not imply that the likelihood of a Palestinian state has been brought closer.