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T respite brought by the halt in hostilities in Gaza is substantial. Within Israeli borders, the liberation of captives held alive has led to broad celebration. Throughout Gaza and the West Bank, jubilations are taking place as approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners start to be released – though concern lingers due to doubt about who is being freed and their destinations. Across northern Gaza, residents can at last reenter sift through wreckage for the bodies of an estimated 10,000 missing people.

Peace Breakthrough Despite Earlier Odds

Only three weeks ago, the probability of a ceasefire appeared remote. But it has taken effect, and on Monday Donald Trump departed Jerusalem, where he was hailed in the Knesset, to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. There, he participated in a prestigious diplomatic gathering of more than 20 world leaders, among them Sir Keir Starmer. The peace initiative initiated there is due to be continued at a conference in the UK. The US president, working alongside international partners, managed to secure this deal come to fruition – regardless of, not because of, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Palestinian Statehood Hopes Tempered by Previous Experiences

Hopes that the deal marks the initial move toward Palestinian statehood are reasonable – but, considering previous instances, somewhat optimistic. It lacks a transparent trajectory to sovereignty for Palestinians and endangers dividing, for the near term, Gaza from the West Bank. Furthermore the total ruin this war has produced. The absence of any timeframe for Palestinian self-governance in Mr Trump’s plan contradicts boastful allusions, in his Knesset speech, to the “historic dawn” of a “age of abundance”.

Donald Trump could not help himself dividing and personalising the deal in his speech.

In a period of relief – with the freeing of captives, halt in fighting and resumption of aid – he decided to reinterpret it as a lesson in ethics in which he alone restored Israel’s prestige after supposed treachery by past US commanders-in-chief Obama and Biden. This even as the Biden administration a year ago having attempted a similar deal: a cessation of hostilities linked to relief entry and future political talks.

Genuine Autonomy Crucial for Authentic Resolution

A proposal that withholds one side genuine autonomy cannot produce authentic resolution. The truce and humanitarian convoys are to be embraced. But this is still not diplomatic advancement. Without mechanisms guaranteeing Palestinian involvement and authority over their own institutions, any deal endangers freezing subjugation under the language of peace.

Relief Imperatives and Reconstruction Challenges

Gaza’s people crucially depend on emergency support – and food and medicines must be the first priority. But rebuilding should not be postponed. Amid 60 million tonnes of rubble, Palestinians need assistance restoring dwellings, learning institutions, hospitals, places of worship and other institutions devastated by Israel’s invasion. For Gaza’s provisional leadership to succeed, monetary resources must arrive promptly and protection voids be addressed.

Like much of the president's resolution initiative, allusions to an global peacekeeping unit and a recommended “peace council” are worryingly ambiguous.

Global Backing and Potential Developments

Substantial international support for the Palestinian Authority, allowing it to replace Hamas, is probably the most encouraging possibility. The tremendous pain of the past two years means the ethical argument for a solution to the conflict is arguably more critical than ever. But although the truce, the homecoming of the detainees and vow by Hamas to “remove weapons from” Gaza should be accepted as positive steps, Donald Trump's track record gives little reason to trust he will fulfill – or consider himself obligated to endeavor. Short-term relief does not imply that the possibility of a Palestinian state has been moved nearer.