https://arab.news/refeu
If all goes according to the script, the first three stages of the Trump peace proposal will be enacted in the early part of this week. A ceasefire, temporary but hopefully to become permanent, has already taken effect. Limited aid has finally been allowed into Gaza. Hostages and detainees are now being released.
What exists is a pause in hostilities, plus, in fairness, a clear determination among many actors, including US President Donald Trump and regional powers, to bring it all to an end. The position of Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition is ambivalent at best. Deciphering the views within a fractured Hamas is tougher to gauge.
How can this pause be translated into a permanent ceasefire and this conflict ultimately shifted onto a path to peace? What should and should not be done? Let’s start with the immediate.
First, if a ceasefire takes hold, attention must not flag. This will require focus and determination for the long term. Politics in the 21st century lacks these qualities. World leaders are easily distracted. The lesson of previous wars on Gaza is that grand statements in the wake of a ceasefire are all too quickly forgotten and a dangerous status quo can be allowed to fester. None of the root causes were addressed in the past.
