https://arab.news/w9v87
It would be impossible to argue credibly that US President Donald Trump is short on tricks up his sleeve or that he lacks ambition, even if his personal and national interests are intertwined. When US envoy Steve Witkoff announced on Jan. 14 the start of phase two of Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza, with the establishment of a Palestinian technocratic governing body, there was some relief that Washington, and possibly others in the international community, had not forgotten Gaza. Yet, less than 48 hours later, when it became clear that the Trump administration had a bolder plan aimed at establishing a new international world order mechanism, a suspicion crept in that Gaza and ending the Israel-Palestinian conflict is once again not necessarily a top priority.
From the outset, the concern was that bringing phase one to an apparent end, with the intensity of the war substantially subsided, almost all the hostages returned to Israel, and the supply of humanitarian aid becoming more regular, would push accomplishing the second phase down the internationally saturated and fast-moving agenda. Since the ceasefire came into force last October, at least 466 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks, which raises doubts about how genuine a ceasefire it is; the remains of one Israeli hostage still have not been returned; the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is still dire; and still the international community has been acting slowly.
