A fragile truce between Israel and the Palestinian group "Hamas" in the Gaza Strip brought much joy to both territories yesterday, after the release of the last 20 living Israeli hostages and the return of the bodies of four dead ones in exchange for about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners serving sentences in Israel, writes BTA.
It was the culmination of a long and painful process, but in the end it may have been the easy part of peace in the Middle East, writes the Associated Press.
In the coming weeks, months and years, it will take more than just rebuilding the devastation that has left much of Gaza in ruins. Key details of the peace plan may remain unresolved. The details will need to be agreed upon to move forward with the plan and prevent renewed fighting, and the road to long-term peace, stability and eventual recovery will be long and very steep.
"The first steps to peace are always the hardest", US President Donald Trump said as he stood alongside foreign leaders in Egypt yesterday at a summit on the future of Gaza. He welcomed the ceasefire agreement and declared an end to the war in Gaza and the beginning of reconstruction in the devastated territory.
But while Trump expressed optimism that the hardest part was over and "the recovery may be the easiest part. I think we have done a lot of the hardest part because the rest is just taking care of itself" - others were more cautious. "Peace has to start somewhere," said Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She called yesterday an important and "euphoric moment" but warned: "Unfortunately, I think there are several potential conditions for failure in the future."
Al Jazeera" senior political analyst Marwan Bishara stressed that there were still "serious disagreements" between Israel and "Hamas" and that important details had yet to be clarified. These included the timing and scope of Israel's withdrawal, the composition of the post-war administration in the Gaza Strip and the fate of "Hamas".
"According to the (Trump) plan... once "Hamas" hands over the hostages, the war should end," Bishara said. But, he added: "Israel says no, the war will only end after "Hamas" disarms".
The 20-point plan for peace in the Middle East, announced by the US president in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on September 29, was agreed upon after consultations with many Arab and Muslim countries, in particular Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, "Euronews" recalls.
On October 8, Trump announced that Israel and "Hamas" had reached an agreement and signed the first phase of the deal. It calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities, a halt to all military operations and a freeze on the fronts, as well as the immediate release of all Israeli hostages, dead and alive, within 72 hours in exchange for the release of 250 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment in Israel and 1,700 individuals arrested since the start of the war.
The proposed strategy in the second phase includes the disarmament of "Hamas", as well as the destruction of tunnels and military infrastructure in order to neutralize the movement's ability to commit further violence. The plan states that Gaza will be a "deradicalized, terrorism-free zone that poses no threat to its neighbors."
An amnesty has also been offered for Hamas members who commit to peaceful coexistence, with those who choose exile being assured safe passage out of the territory.
A temporary international stabilization force, made up of American, Arab and European officials, is to monitor security and facilitate the training of Palestinian police, thus ensuring long-term stability and peace.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelati said yesterday that it was crucial for Israel and Hamas to fully implement the first phase of negotiations to begin. So far, all the living hostages have been returned to Israel, but the remains of 24 of the dead hostages remain in Gaza.
"We are very committed to (the peace agreement)", Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told CBS News on Monday. "The agreement specifically states 72 hours for the redeployment of the Israeli military along the new line... That deadline has already passed, and not all the hostages have returned, so we understand what we are dealing with," he added.
According to information received, "Hamas" is trying to find some of the remaining 24 bodies of dead hostages, writes the Israeli newspaper "Haaretz", adding that others appear to be used as tools of psychological warfare. Israel, with the help of intermediaries, will have to continue to exert strong pressure to return the remaining bodies, the publication comments.
In the last – The third phase, which would see the establishment of a transitional administration led by a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee responsible for the day-to-day running of public services and municipalities in Gaza, would be composed of qualified Palestinians and international experts, working under the supervision and control of a new international transitional body, the "Peace Council", headed by Trump and including other members including former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Humanitarian aid would be delivered without interference, with international organizations such as the United Nations and the Red Crescent overseeing its distribution to ensure fairness and efficiency, the plan states.
It also envisages efforts to encourage Palestinians to remain in Gaza, offering support to those who choose to stay and rebuild their communities.
To pave the way for a long-term peace, dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians would be encouraged to establish a political framework for peaceful coexistence and mutual understanding.
One of the most difficult issues to resolve at the moment is Israel's insistence that the weakened "Hamas" completely disarm. The Palestinian group has so far refused to do so and wants to make sure that Israel completely withdraws its troops from Gaza.
So far, the Israeli army has withdrawn from Gaza City, the southern town of Khan Younis and other areas, but according to Israeli officials it still controls about 53% of the enclave. Troops remain in most of the southern town of Rafah, towns in the far north of Gaza and a wide strip along Gaza's border with Israel.
The Israeli newspaper "Jerusalem Post" wrote this morning that after the ceasefire in Gaza came into effect, "Hamas" is trying to reassert its authority in the enclave, killing at least 32 people in recent days in a crackdown on groups that have challenged its tight control of the territory.
Palestinian analyst Reham Ouda told the publication that Hamas' actions are aimed at deterring groups that have collaborated with Israel, but the group is also seeking to show that its security officials should be part of the new government, although this would be rejected by Israel.
Israel and Hamas have also not agreed on the governance of Gaza after the war. The US plan envisages a possible role for the Palestinian Authority of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas - something Netanyahu has long opposed. But that would require the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank, to first go through a sweeping reform program, and the plan does not provide any timetable for that process.
Regarding the creation of an international security force in Gaza, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelati stressed that a UN Security Council resolution would be needed to deploy them.
All of these unresolved issues are layered on top of a legacy of conflict, deep distrust between the two warring sides and the vague, conditional possibility of eventual Palestinian statehood - an issue that has been a major stumbling block for decades, the AP notes. "When you realize how far you have to go to preserve the current truce, then I think things get really disheartening," Mona Yacoubian told the news agency.
Since the war began with attacks by "Hamas" against Israel on October 7, 2023, two more truces were concluded, but they did not bring any progress beyond temporary cessations of fighting and limited exchanges of hostages and prisoners. There are reasons for skepticism, also due to the fact that US attempts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have failed for decades, writes the AP.
Beginning with the Madrid Conference of 1991 and going through the historic Oslo Accords of 1993 and 1995, which created the Palestinian Authority, all efforts to renew the process until 2014 failed.
Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said that the current truce is "welcome and significant, but fragile". Now, she said, the question is "whether it will completely fail and serve only as an opportunity for the two sides to regroup, rather than as a springboard for progress."
"That will depend on President Trump and the other actors with whom he coordinates to stick to it," Kurtzer-Ellenbogen noted.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was cautious yesterday, saying he was "committed" to Trump's peace plan but stopped short of declaring an end to the war. He has repeatedly promised over the past two years to achieve "complete victory" over "Hamas".
The settlement of all these details comes against the backdrop of the need for "massive rehabilitation" of the Gaza Strip, Kurtzer-Ellenbogen said, and of a population that has suffered ongoing physical and psychological trauma.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed. More than 90% of Gaza's population of more than 2 million has been displaced. The medical system is in ruins. Homes and buildings have been demolished. Farmland is devastated. Hunger is widespread. These urgent needs must be met while also rebuilding transitional security and governance systems. "There is a real luxury here to get things in order," Kurzer-Ellenbogen said. "Everything has to happen at the same time," she stressed.
The World Bank, the United Nations and the European Union estimated earlier this year that the cost of rebuilding Gaza would be around $53 billion. Wealthy Arab states are expected to help with funding, but to achieve this, they are expected to give guarantees that there will be a path to Palestinian independence and that there will be no return to military action. On the other hand, although the "Trump" plan There is a vague reference to a Palestinian state, the US does not indicate that it will be recognized by them, and Netanyahu ruled out such a possibility as early as September 30.
Mona Yacoubian commented that the agreement concluded by the Trump administration seems "intentionally very vague" on the issue of Palestinian statehood. It appears to have been designed to "find a balance between the minimum that the Palestinians and their Arab backers would accept", without mentioning the "two-state solution", which appears to remain unacceptable to Israel.
Robert Wood, the US deputy permanent representative to the UN during the Biden administration who has vetoed several UN Security Council resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, has now said that the next phase will be difficult and "will require a huge amount of work".
"The administration needs to remain engaged, especially at the highest level, if this is to have any chance of working," Wood said. "Today is a good day, but the war is not over yet," he noted.