Trump faces tougher challenges in creating a lasting peace in Gaza

After President Trump announced the end of the war in Gaza, Israel ceased its operations in Gaza and started to withdraw its forces as Hamas agreed to release the remaining hostages. These developments mark the first stage of the 20-point peace plan declared last week at the White House, and set the ground for further developments toward determining the future of Gaza and the Middle East.

Over the years the Middle East has witnessed many declarations and diplomatic plans that failed to materialise due to the conflicting interests of the parties involved in this centuries-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The resulting scepticism is well justified.

To assess the likelihood of this new peace vision succeeding, it would be best to start with figuring out what led both Israel and Hamas to abandon the positions they were entrenched in for the past two years: Israel’s refusal to stop the war until a “decisive victory” was achieved and Hamas's refusal to release the hostages which were used as an “insurance policy” to prevent Israel from occupying the entirety of the Gaza strip.

Under the current agreement, both sides have fallen short of achieving their declared goals. Israel did succeed in getting back its hostages but has failed to obliterate Hamas’s presence in Gaza. Hamas on the other hand, was able to survive the massive Israeli military campaign, but failed to ignite the coordinated regional war its instigators hoped would lead to Israel’s demise. The movement now faces the risk of losing its foothold in Gaza.

The critical role that President Trump played in bringing about the end of the Gaza war cannot be overstated. Trump used his full weight to force Israel and Hamas to compromise. This was a direct result of a combination of major factors. The tipping point was Israel’s unprecedented airstrike on Hamas negotiators in Qatar last month, which triggered Trump’s wrath towards Netanyahu’s tendency to sabotage every attempt to promote a peace deal.