If the current script holds, the first three stages of the Trump peace proposal will be enacted in the coming days. A temporary—yet desperately hoped-to-be-permanent—ceasefire has taken effect. A trickle of humanitarian aid is finally entering Gaza, and the painful process of exchanging hostages and detainees is underway.
What we have is a fragile pause, a moment of precarious calm. To its credit, this pause is backed by a clear determination from several key actors, including US President Donald Trump and influential regional powers, to end the immediate bloodshed. The position of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition remains, at best, ambivalent and politically fraught. Deciphering the views within a fractured and besieged Hamas is an even more difficult task.
The critical question now is: How can this temporary pause be forged into a permanent ceasefire, and how can this intractable conflict finally be shifted onto a genuine path to peace? What must be done, and what pitfalls must be avoided? The immediate steps are crucial.
I. The Immediate Imperatives: Sustaining the Moment
First, vigilance must be the watchword. If the ceasefire holds, international attention must not waver. The 21st-century political landscape, with its short news cycles and easily distracted leaders, is ill-suited for the long, determined focus this process demands. The lesson from previous Gaza conflicts is stark: grand statements made in the aftermath of ceasefire are quickly forgotten, allowing a dangerous and unsustainable status quo to fester. The root causes—occupation, blockade, political disenfranchisement, and terror—were never addressed, ensuring the cycle would repeat. This time must be different.
Second, momentum must be built with tangible, incremental progress. President Trump has, through sheer force of personality, banged heads together and created a window of opportunity. Bringing parties to Egypt for a summit is a significant achievement. However, momentum without direction is fleeting. The people of Gaza need to feel a change in their daily lives. The situation on the ground must improve week by week, month by month. This requires a steady stream of visible results—more aid, clearer restoration of essential services, and evidence of rebuilding—to build trust in the process itself.
Third, everyone must resist the hype. The architects of this plan have a vested interest in overplaying their achievements. A ceasefire, while vital, is not a peace deal. It is not even a comprehensive truce. This framework currently covers only Gaza, deliberately sidestepping the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict. To declare victory now is to downplay the far more profound political challenges that lie ahead, risking a catastrophic loss of credibility when those challenges inevitably arise.
II. The Fundamental Flaws: What the Trump Plan Misses
The announced 20-point plan, negotiated primarily between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, contains critical omissions that must be addressed for any lasting peace to be possible. Three areas are particularly glaring.
1. The Absence of Palestinian Agency.
The most profound flaw is the total exclusion of the Palestinian people from determining their own future. The State of Palestine, as recognized by the majority of the world’s nations, must have a seat at the table, starting now in Egypt. While Hamas, beyond the imperative of its disarmament, cannot be a political partner in Gaza’s future, this cannot mean Palestinians are silenced. The Palestinian Authority (PA), for all its undeniable flaws, possesses a governance structure and capability. Palestinians themselves are the foremost advocates for its reform, but the process cannot be held hostage to this internal challenge. Palestinians must be at the center of deciding who governs Gaza, who oversees its reconstruction, who awards contracts, and who negotiates with Israel. Those countries that have recently recognized Palestine should lead the charge on this non-negotiable point: Palestine cannot be the one party most affected that is not represented in its own future.
2. The Artificial Separation of Gaza and the West Bank.
The plan treats Gaza as a standalone enclave, a approach that is fundamentally unserious. A comprehensive peace is impossible if the two main territories of a future Palestinian state are permanently severed. Netanyahu and his coterie of anti-Palestinian ministers explicitly seek this complete separation—geographic, demographic, economic, and political—to foreclose the possibility of a viable Palestinian state. The PA is deliberately excluded, and the proposed “technocratic authority” in Gaza is designed to have zero connection to Ramallah. The Trump plan’s silence on a safe passage between Gaza and the West Bank is a deliberate poison pill, ensuring Palestinians cannot travel, trade, or function as a single nation. This separation must be challenged from the outset. Furthermore, the parallel crisis in the West Bank—including massive settlement expansion and escalating settler violence—must be halted and reversed. You cannot put out a fire in one room while pouring gasoline on the fire in the next.
3. The Denial of Justice and Accountability.
A peace built on impunity for atrocity is a peace built on sand. What message does it send to the world if genocide and crimes against humanity are perpetrated without consequence? For a sustainable future, the quest for justice cannot be sacrificed. The cases at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) must be supported, not undermined. Perpetrators of crimes on all sides must be held accountable. Furthermore, businesses that have aided and abetted violations of international law must have no role in the lucrative process of reconstruction. A just peace requires a reckoning with the truth.
III. The Leverage for Change: A Role for Regional Powers
The regional actors—including Arab states whose funds and potential peacekeeping troops are integral to the Trump plan’s viability—hold significant leverage. They must use it. Their participation should be conditional on the above points being addressed.
They should commit funds and troops to any stabilization force only if:
-
A sovereign State of Palestine is the clear and agreed-upon destination of the process.
-
Palestinians are empowered to run their own affairs, free from external political control.
-
Justice and accountability are placed at the heart of the way forward.
These states have President Trump’s ear. Their resources are essential to his desired legacy. It is time for them to ensure that this fragile path leads not to a dead end of renewed conflict, but toward a just and lasting peace for all. The pause is a beginning, but the right path must be chosen now.
Support Dawat Media Center
If there were ever a time to join us, it is now. Every contribution, however big or small, powers our journalism and sustains our future. Support the Dawat Media Center from as little as $/€10 – it only takes a minute. If you can, please consider supporting us with a regular amount each month. Thank you
DNB Bank AC # 0530 2294668
Account for international payments: NO15 0530 2294 668
Vipps: #557320
Support Dawat Media Center
If there were ever a time to join us, it is now. Every contribution, however big or small, powers our journalism and sustains our future. Support the Dawat Media Center from as little as $/€10 – it only takes a minute. If you can, please consider supporting us with a regular amount each month. Thank you
DNB Bank AC # 0530 2294668
Account for international payments: NO15 0530 2294 668
Vipps: #557320
Comments are closed.