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The respite following the halt in hostilities in Gaza is profound. Across Israel, the freeing of surviving detainees has resulted in extensive joy. In Gaza and the West Bank, celebrations are taking place as as many as 2,000 Palestinian inmates begin their release – even as anguish remains due to ambiguity about who is being freed and their destinations. Across northern Gaza, people can now go back to search the debris for the remains of an estimated 10,000 missing people.

Ceasefire Emergence Against Previous Doubts

Just three weeks ago, the likelihood of a ceasefire seemed unlikely. However it has been implemented, and on Monday Donald Trump travelled from Jerusalem, where he was hailed in the Knesset, to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. There, he joined a prestigious peace summit of more than 20 world leaders, among them Sir Keir Starmer. The diplomatic roadmap initiated there is due to be continued at a meeting in the UK. The US president, cooperating with international partners, did make this deal happen – regardless of, not because of, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Aspirations for Sovereignty Qualified by Historical Realities

Aspirations that the deal signifies the first step toward Palestinian statehood are reasonable – but, in light of past occurrences, slightly idealistic. It offers no clear path to self-rule for Palestinians and risks separating, for the foreseeable future, Gaza from the West Bank. Additionally the utter devastation this war has produced. The omission of any timeframe for Palestinian self-determination in Mr Trump’s plan gives the lie to self-aggrandizing allusions, in his Knesset speech, to the “historic dawn” of a “era of prosperity”.

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

In a time of relief – with the hostage release, truce and resumption of aid – he opted to reframe it as a morality play in which he solely reinstated Israel’s dignity after supposed treachery by previous American leaders Obama and Biden. This even as the Biden administration twelve months prior having attempted a similar deal: a truce linked to aid delivery and eventual negotiations.

Substantive Control Vital for Sustainable Agreement

A plan that withholds one side genuine autonomy cannot produce sustainable agreement. The halt in hostilities and relief shipments are to be embraced. But this is not yet policy development. Without mechanisms securing Palestinian engagement and control over their own institutions, any deal risks perpetuating subjugation under the rhetoric of peace.

Relief Imperatives and Rebuilding Obstacles

Gaza’s people urgently require relief assistance – and nutrition and medication must be the initial concern. But rebuilding must not be delayed. Amid 60 million tonnes of debris, Palestinians need support restoring dwellings, educational facilities, medical centers, religious buildings and other organizations destroyed by Israel’s military operation. For Gaza’s transitional administration to prosper, financial support must flow quickly and security gaps be filled.

Comparable with a large portion of the president's diplomatic proposal, references to an international stabilisation force and a proposed “peace council” are disturbingly unclear.

Global Backing and Future Prospects

Strong global backing for the Gaza's governing body, enabling it to replace Hamas, is likely the most hopeful prospect. The enormous suffering of the recent period means the humanitarian imperative for a solution to the conflict is possibly more pressing than ever. But while the ceasefire, the repatriation of the detainees and pledge by Hamas to “disarm” Gaza should be accepted as favorable developments, Donald Trump's record provides scant basis to believe he will accomplish – or deem himself compelled to attempt. Temporary ease does not mean that the possibility of a Palestinian state has been moved nearer.