🔗 Share this article End of Gaza Conflict Provides Real Relief, However Trump's Pledge of a Age of Plenty Seems Empty T relief resulting from the end of fighting in Gaza is profound. In Israel, the freeing of captives held alive has led to widespread elation. Across Palestinian territories, celebrations are taking place as as many as 2,000 Palestinian prisoners begin their release – although anguish persists due to ambiguity about which prisoners are returning and their destinations. In northern Gaza, people can finally reenter dig through rubble for the remains of an approximated 10,000 missing people. Peace Breakthrough Against Previous Doubts Just three weeks ago, the chance of a ceasefire looked improbable. However 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 diplomatic gathering of in excess of 20 world leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer. The plan for peace begun there is due to be continued at a meeting in the UK. The US president, cooperating with international partners, managed to secure this deal come to fruition – despite, not owing to, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Dreams of Independence Qualified by Historical Realities Aspirations that the deal signifies the opening phase toward Palestinian statehood are understandable – but, in light of previous instances, somewhat optimistic. It provides no definite route to self-rule for Palestinians and risks separating, for the foreseeable future, Gaza from the West Bank. Then there is the complete destruction this war has produced. The absence of any schedule for Palestinian autonomy in Mr Trump’s plan undermines boastful allusions, in his Knesset speech, to the “epochal beginning” of a “era of prosperity”. Donald Trump could not help himself sowing division and personalising the deal in his speech. In a time of ease – with the liberation of detainees, ceasefire and restart of aid – he opted to reframe it as a lesson in ethics in which he alone reclaimed Israel’s dignity after supposed treachery by former US presidents Obama and Biden. This even as the Biden administration previously having tried a similar deal: a ceasefire tied to relief entry and ultimate political talks. Substantive Control Vital for Authentic Resolution A proposal that refuses one side meaningful agency cannot yield sustainable agreement. The ceasefire and humanitarian convoys are to be embraced. But this is not yet policy development. Without processes ensuring Palestinian participation and authority over their own organizations, any deal threatens cementing subjugation under the rhetoric of peace. Humanitarian Priorities and Recovery Hurdles Gaza’s people urgently require humanitarian aid – and sustenance and pharmaceuticals must be the primary focus. But restoration must not be delayed. Amid 60 million tonnes of wreckage, Palestinians need help restoring residences, schools, hospitals, religious buildings and other institutions shattered by Israel’s incursion. For Gaza’s provisional leadership to prosper, funding must flow quickly and protection voids be addressed. Similar to a large portion of Mr Trump’s peace plan, references to an global peacekeeping unit and a proposed “board of peace” are worryingly ambiguous. Global Backing and Potential Developments Strong international support for the Gaza's governing body, allowing it to take over from Hamas, is perhaps the most hopeful possibility. The immense hardship of the previous 24 months means the moral case for a solution to the conflict is arguably more critical than ever. But while the ceasefire, the homecoming of the captives and vow by Hamas to “remove weapons from” Gaza should be acknowledged as constructive moves, Mr Trump’s record offers minimal cause to believe he will accomplish – or feel bound to endeavor. Immediate respite does not mean that the likelihood of a Palestinian state has been advanced.