Description: US President Donald Trump announced from the White House that Hamas and Israel have agreed to begin implementing the first phase of his 20 – point comprehensive peace plan. The initial phase would involve prisoner and hostage exchanges within the next 72 hours and gradual withdrawal of Israeli military troops from the Gaza City. Hamas would be expected to commence releasing the hostages by Monday at the latest while Israel is expected to start the phased withdrawal of its troops after the Knesset approves the initial agreement. After the implementation of the initial agreement, mediators would continue the negotiations with both parties to discuss other disputable points such as Gaza’s post war administration. Hamas’ disarmament, the concrete and conclusive timeframe of Israel’s phased out withdrawal from the enclave and the involvement of the Palestinian Authority in the future political administration. The deal was hailed by global leaders such as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney who stated that an expedient resolution was necessary to the crisis in order to end the humanitarian suffering and start the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. Key issues still remain, however, the adoption of the initial phase of the peace plan ignited long-lost hopes for the resolution of the crisis in the Middle East.
Impact: The acceptance of the initial phase of the peace plan represents a prelude to the further resolution of the disputed points and positions the peace initiative in a transitional period which could eventually result in the complete implementation of several key points of Trump’s plan. In light of the diplomatic achievements, the key remaining sticking points would be contingent on several factors such as diplomatic pressure from the US, concessions made by Hamas, and Israel’s realistic commitments towards implementing the complete comprehensive peace plan. The transitional period of the peace plan would involve difficult negotiations and bringing about a major point of confliction such as the forming of the Palestinian state. With the release of all remaining hostages, Hamas is left with no concrete leverage of renewed Israeli aggression except for the guarantees provided by the mediators and the US. There are still plenty of moving parts which have to be brought towards cohesive cohabitation in order for the peace plan to be fully implemented. Israel is most definitely in a more advantageous position with the return of the hostages and most of its military goals accomplished in the two – year old war. Hamas and the other armed militias within the enclave would have to carefully maneuver and diplomatically navigate around the upcoming negotiations in order not to prompt the collapse of the potential for a ceasefire.