THE MIRAGE OF PEACE

The Trump Plan has secured a fragile, temporary truce. But it faces significant long-term challenges centred on its requirement to disarm Hamas and create a terror-free zone in Gaza, raising questions about its durability

- P.R. KUMARASWAMY

THE WAR IS OVER!

President Donald Trump declared loudly and repeatedly, on Air Force One en route to the Middle East, and in his speeches before the Israeli parliament and the Sharm el-Sheikh peace conference.

His determination to strengthen the Gaza peace plan is evident. Despite his eccentricity and unpredictability, Trump has succeeded where everyone else—Americans and others alike—has failed. His arm-twisting of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas eventually forced both sides to accept the terms of his peace deal. Despite all the misgivings and negative portrayals—some calling it colonial, genocidal and anti-Palestinian—the Trump Plan remains the only option that could end the Gaza crisis, at least in the short run.

Minutes before Trump landed in Israel, Hamas released the remaining 20 Israeli hostages, and the first batch of bodies of slain Israelis was transferred for forensic verification and authentication. Around the same time, Israel also freed about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

The Sharm el-Sheikh conference on October 13, attended by more than two dozen countries and stakeholders, aimed to boost support for the Gaza peace plan and stabilise the region. The Islamic bloc, which had earlier endorsed the Trump Plan, was fully present. After initial hesitation, President Mahmoud Abbas—leader of the internationally recognised Palestinian National Authority (PNA)—attended the conference co-chaired by Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Just weeks earlier, the US had denied visas and barred the Palestinian leader from speaking in person at the UN General Assembly session.