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The respite resulting from the ceasefire in Gaza is profound. In Israel, the release of surviving detainees has led to widespread elation. In Gaza and the West Bank, celebrations are also underway as as many as 2,000 Palestinian inmates start to be released – although concern remains due to uncertainty about which prisoners are returning and where they will be sent. In northern Gaza, people can finally go back to sift through wreckage for the remnants of an believed 10,000 unaccounted-for individuals.

Ceasefire Emergence Despite Prior Uncertainty

Only three weeks ago, the chance of a ceasefire seemed unlikely. Yet it has been implemented, and on Monday Donald Trump travelled from Jerusalem, where he was applauded in the Knesset, to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. There, he participated in a high-level peace conference of over 20 world leaders, featuring Sir Keir Starmer. The peace initiative launched at that summit is set to advance at a conference in the UK. The US president, working alongside international partners, successfully brokered this deal take place – contrary to, not owing to, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Palestinian Statehood Hopes Tempered by Historical Realities

Expectations that the deal signifies the opening phase toward Palestinian statehood are understandable – but, given historical precedent, slightly idealistic. It offers no clear path to sovereignty for Palestinians and endangers splitting, for the near term, Gaza from the West Bank. Furthermore the total ruin this war has caused. The absence of any schedule for Palestinian self-determination in Mr Trump’s plan contradicts self-aggrandizing allusions, in his Knesset speech, to the “monumental start” of a “golden age”.

The American leader was unable to refrain from sowing division and personalising the deal in his speech.

In a period of respite – with the hostage release, ceasefire and renewal of aid – he opted to reframe it as a lesson in ethics in which he solely reinstated Israel’s dignity after purported treachery by previous American leaders Obama and Biden. Notwithstanding the Biden administration twelve months prior having tried a similar deal: a cessation of hostilities linked to relief entry and eventual diplomatic discussions.

Genuine Autonomy Essential for Legitimate Peace

A initiative that withholds one side meaningful agency cannot yield authentic resolution. The ceasefire and relief shipments are to be welcomed. But this is not currently policy development. Without processes guaranteeing Palestinian involvement and control over their own establishments, any deal endangers cementing subjugation under the discourse of peace.

Humanitarian Priorities and Recovery Hurdles

Gaza’s people desperately need humanitarian aid – and food and medicines must be the first priority. But restoration cannot wait. Within 60 million tonnes of debris, Palestinians need assistance reconstructing homes, learning institutions, healthcare facilities, places of worship and other establishments destroyed by Israel’s invasion. For Gaza’s interim government to succeed, financial support must be disbursed rapidly and protection voids be remedied.

Similar to a large portion of Donald Trump's resolution initiative, allusions to an global peacekeeping unit and a proposed “board of peace” are disturbingly unclear.

International Support and Prospective Outcomes

Substantial international support for the Gaza's governing body, enabling it to succeed Hamas, is probably the most encouraging prospect. The tremendous pain of the previous 24 months means the humanitarian imperative for a settlement to the conflict is possibly more urgent than ever. But even as the halt in fighting, the homecoming of the hostages and pledge by Hamas to “remove weapons from” Gaza should be accepted as favorable developments, the president's history provides scant basis to have faith he will accomplish – or feel bound to try. Temporary ease should not be interpreted as that the prospect of a Palestinian state has been moved nearer.