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T respite resulting from the ceasefire in Gaza is profound. Within Israeli borders, the liberation of captives held alive has led to broad celebration. Throughout Gaza and the West Bank, celebrations are also underway as up to 2,000 Palestinian detainees begin their release – even as concern lingers due to uncertainty about the identities of those released and their destinations. Across northern Gaza, civilians can now reenter sift through wreckage for the bodies of an approximated 10,000 missing people.

Ceasefire Emergence Against Earlier Odds

As recently as three weeks ago, the probability of a ceasefire looked improbable. But it has come into force, and on Monday Donald Trump departed Jerusalem, where he was applauded in the Knesset, to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. There, he joined a high-powered peace conference of in excess of 20 world leaders, featuring Sir Keir Starmer. The peace initiative initiated there is due to be continued at a conference in the UK. The US president, acting with international partners, did make this deal take place – regardless of, not due to, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Palestinian Statehood Hopes Tempered by Historical Realities

Hopes that the deal signifies the initial move toward Palestinian statehood are comprehensible – but, considering previous instances, somewhat optimistic. It offers no clear path to independence for Palestinians and threatens splitting, for the immediate period, Gaza from the West Bank. Additionally the complete destruction this war leaves behind. The lack of any timeframe for Palestinian self-determination in the presidential proposal gives the lie to vainglorious allusions, in his Knesset speech, to the “epochal beginning” of a “era of prosperity”.

Donald Trump was unable to refrain from sowing division and individualizing the deal in his speech.

In a period of relief – with the hostage release, truce and resumption of aid – he chose to recast it as a lesson in ethics in which he exclusively reinstated Israel’s honor after alleged disloyalty by past US commanders-in-chief Obama and Biden. Notwithstanding the Biden administration previously having undertaken a similar deal: a cessation of hostilities linked to relief entry and eventual diplomatic discussions.

Meaningful Agency Crucial for Legitimate Peace

A plan that withholds one side substantive control is incapable of delivering sustainable agreement. The ceasefire and aid trucks are to be embraced. But this is still not political progress. Without systems securing Palestinian participation and control over their own institutions, any deal endangers perpetuating domination under the language of peace.

Aid Necessities and Reconstruction Challenges

Gaza’s people crucially depend on emergency support – and nutrition and medication must be the primary focus. But restoration cannot wait. Within 60 million tonnes of wreckage, Palestinians need assistance reconstructing residences, schools, hospitals, religious buildings and other institutions shattered by Israel’s incursion. For Gaza’s interim government to thrive, financial support must arrive promptly and security gaps be filled.

Like a large portion of the president's resolution initiative, allusions to an international stabilisation force and a proposed “peace council” are disturbingly unclear.

Global Backing and Prospective Outcomes

Strong international support for the Palestinian leadership, permitting it to replace Hamas, is likely the most encouraging possibility. The tremendous pain of the past two years means the humanitarian imperative for a settlement to the conflict is possibly more urgent than ever. But even as the ceasefire, the return of the detainees and pledge by Hamas to “demilitarise” Gaza should be recognized as constructive moves, Donald Trump's record provides scant basis to believe he will fulfill – or deem himself compelled to attempt. Immediate respite should not be interpreted as that the possibility of a Palestinian state has been advanced.