US President Donald Trump hailed a “historic dawn of a new Middle East” in his address before the Israeli parliament yesterday — but there are still several unresolved aspects of his 20-point ceasefire plan.
Trump also co-hosted a Gaza summit in Egypt attended by more than two dozen world leaders, where he co-signed an agreement with ceasefire mediators to work toward peace in the region.
Some of the sticking points include how the largely destroyed Gaza Strip will be governed after the war, as well as how Hamas’ disarmament and Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza will be carried out.
The full withdrawal of the Israeli military is contingent on Hamas’ disarmament, according to the agreement, leaving some wiggle room for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to say his country has the freedom to resume fighting.
Hamas’ chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, said last week that the group has received guarantees from the US and international mediators that this deal means “the war has ended permanently,” rather than representing a temporary ceasefire. But it’s not clear in what form those guarantees came.
A key unanswered question is what will happen to Hamas, according to Burcu Ozcelik, senior research fellow for Middle East security at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a British think tank.
“You have what looks like a pathway to Palestinian statehood … but this, ultimately, is a Palestinian state that does not seem to have any place for Hamas. To what extent Hamas will agree to this and comply with this in the weeks and months to come – I think that is a big question,” Ozcelik told CNN.