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T reprieve following the ceasefire in Gaza is profound. Across Israel, the liberation of the living hostages has resulted in broad celebration. Throughout Gaza and the West Bank, celebrations have commenced as approximately 2,000 Palestinian inmates start to be released – although concern lingers due to uncertainty about who is being freed and where they will be sent. Across northern Gaza, residents can now return to sift through wreckage for the remains of an believed 10,000 missing people.

Ceasefire Emergence Against Earlier Odds

Only three weeks ago, the probability of a ceasefire seemed unlikely. However it has been implemented, and on Monday Donald Trump journeyed from Jerusalem, where he was cheered in the Knesset, to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. There, he joined a prestigious peace conference of over 20 world leaders, among them Sir Keir Starmer. The plan for peace begun there is due to be continued at a assembly in the UK. The US president, cooperating with international partners, did make this deal come to fruition – despite, not owing to, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Aspirations for Sovereignty Moderated by Past Precedents

Hopes that the deal marks the opening phase toward Palestinian statehood are understandable – but, given past occurrences, somewhat optimistic. It lacks a transparent trajectory to sovereignty for Palestinians and endangers splitting, for the near term, Gaza from the West Bank. Additionally the total ruin this war has produced. The lack of any timeframe for Palestinian self-governance in Mr Trump’s plan gives the lie to boastful allusions, in his Knesset speech, to the “historic dawn” of a “era of prosperity”.

The American leader could not resist sowing division and individualizing the deal in his speech.

In a time of respite – with the liberation of detainees, halt in fighting and renewal of aid – he decided to reinterpret it as a morality play in which he solely restored Israel’s prestige after supposed disloyalty by past US commanders-in-chief Obama and Biden. Notwithstanding the Biden administration previously having attempted a similar deal: a cessation of hostilities connected with humanitarian access and future diplomatic discussions.

Substantive Control Essential for Legitimate Peace

A proposal that refuses one side meaningful agency cannot yield authentic resolution. The ceasefire and humanitarian convoys are to be welcomed. But this is still not political progress. Without processes securing Palestinian participation and authority over their own establishments, any deal threatens freezing domination under the discourse of peace.

Aid Necessities and Reconstruction Challenges

Gaza’s people urgently require humanitarian aid – and nutrition and medication must be the primary focus. But rebuilding should not be postponed. Within 60 million tonnes of rubble, Palestinians need support restoring dwellings, schools, healthcare facilities, mosques and other organizations devastated by Israel’s military operation. For Gaza’s provisional leadership to succeed, funding must flow quickly and safety deficiencies be remedied.

Like a great deal of Donald Trump's resolution initiative, mentions to an multinational security contingent and a suggested “board of peace” are worryingly ambiguous.

Worldwide Endorsement and Prospective Outcomes

Substantial international support for the Palestinian leadership, allowing it to replace Hamas, is likely the most hopeful possibility. The enormous suffering of the previous 24 months means the moral case for a solution to the conflict is arguably more pressing than ever. But even as the truce, the repatriation of the hostages and vow by Hamas to “demilitarise” Gaza should be recognized as constructive moves, Mr Trump’s track record provides scant basis to believe he will accomplish – or deem himself compelled to attempt. Temporary ease does not imply that the possibility of a Palestinian state has been brought closer.