After two years of fighting, Hamas and Israel finally agreed to the peace proposal. The first phase i.e. exchange of hostages and prisoners has started. Soon the Israeli Defense Force will also retreat from Gaza to the designated area. It is expected that this peace proposal brought by Donald Trump will bring a long peace, but looking at the past record, this time too the ceasefire may prove to be as brittle as a raw mountain. Both Israel and Hamas have been in this situation before.
The problem with Trump’s 20-point plan is that it does not have much detail in it. Will the Israeli army completely vacate the Gaza Strip or can the checkpoints remain? Who will handle Gaza before the Palestinian Authority? Hamas If he refuses to give up his arms, where will he be sent?
Throughout the day on Monday, living and then dead hostages will also be handed over to Israel. Hamas is ready for this but is also apprehensive. Hamas had more power over hostages than weapons. As soon as it returns all the hostages, there will be a fear that Israel may attack it again. In such a situation, it will be necessary to first gain mutual trust. But even before October 7, 2023, there was no direct war between Hamas and Tel Aviv, but there was no peace and trust even then.
Hamas will also have to give up its attachment to power in Gaza along with weapons. Hamas had earlier said that it would do this only if Palestine is made a separate country. Also, there should be no interference from any foreign power in their place even temporarily. In fact, some time ago, Trump talked about forming a Body of Peace with foreign leaders. This step may again bring discontent in Gaza.
A part of the Gaza deal also talks about it getting humanitarian aid again. However, Gaza Strip has been living under siege on air, water and land for the last two decades. Not only Israel, even the sensitive Egypt is afraid of infiltration of its people. People living in Gaza cannot go out for work. Two years ago, the unemployment rate in Gaza was 46 percent and more than 60 percent of the population was suffering from nutritional deficiency.
If the siege continues, the situation in Gaza will not improve even after peace. Neither will its people be able to get enough food, nor will they be able to get other basic facilities. In this situation, there is a fear that Hamas or any other terrorist organization like it may become stronger, which also has the support of the population.
Israel has been accused of continuously expanding its colony in the West Bank. According to statistics, more than seven lakh Jews are settled there. In such a situation, even the West Bank is not completely confident about Tel Aviv. Even though the Palestinian Authority works there, it was believed that Tel Aviv continued to interfere in its internal affairs under the pretext of help. There is a lack of detail in the peace proposal on this issue also.
Even before this, many peace efforts had been made between Israel and Palestine. There was an Oslo Accord in the nineties, under which an agreement was made between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Gaza Strip and the West Bank were handed over to the PLO so that they could work with their own people by making their own rules and regulations. But instability continued even after this.
Both sides kept accusing each other of breaking the agreement. Now the situation is more serious. The leadership of Hamas is almost finished. Settlements in Gaza are destroyed. In such a situation, it is possible that on the surface there may be agreement on the peace proposal, but internally some other preparations are going on. Anyway, the ease with which Hamas suddenly agreed to this is a different sign.
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