That history is precisely why the latest agreement<\/a> between Hamas and the Gaza Board of Peace should be approached with cautious realism rather than celebration.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hamas has, at least in principle, agreed to one of Israel’s longstanding demands: to relinquish its weapons as part of a broader political settlement.\u00a0<\/p>\n In return, the proposed agreement envisages a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the establishment of a new Palestinian governing authority and the beginning of reconstruction<\/a> after nearly three years of a war that many international legal experts, human rights organisations and an increasing number of governments have described as genocide<\/a>.<\/p>\n For much of this period, Israeli officials and many Western governments insisted that peace was impossible as long as Hamas remained armed and in power.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hamas’ willingness to relinquish both governing authority<\/a> and, ultimately, its weapons<\/a> fundamentally changes the political equation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Whether one believes Hamas will ultimately follow through is almost beside the point. Politically, the movement has crossed a threshold that few expected it would.<\/p>\n Related<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Will Israel ever change?<\/p>\n The question now is no longer what Hamas is prepared to concede. It is whether Israel is prepared to honour its own side of the bargain.<\/p>\n History offers compelling reasons for caution. The Oslo Accords<\/a>, signed in 1993, envisaged a phased process leading to a permanent settlement within five years.\u00a0<\/p>\n More than thirty years later, that settlement has never materialised. Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank expanded significantly during and after the Oslo process, while successive negotiations failed to resolve the core issues of borders, sovereignty and Palestinian statehood.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Wye River Memorandum<\/a>, negotiated during Benjamin Netanyahu’s first premiership, also suffered from incomplete implementation<\/a> after domestic political opposition within his own coalition slowed agreed Israeli redeployments.\u00a0<\/p>\n Subsequent initiatives, including the internationally-backed Road Map for Peace, similarly failed to produce the political outcomes they promised.<\/p>\n Violence and political fragmentation undoubtedly complicated successive peace efforts.\u00a0<\/p>\n But they should not obscure the central reality of the conflict: this has never been a negotiation between equals.\u00a0<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/e0e6a2bf8fe3d57e4ea1864c499839b88cd0fa135d2eaf7713b43511a6dd6526.jpg\"\/)
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