Loading ...Will the Gaza Ceasefire Reach Its Final Phase?
By: Ghassan Rubeiz / Arab America Contributing Writer
In a pre-inaugural speech, President-elect Donald Trump pledged to bring peace to Ukraine and end what he called “the chaos” in the Middle East. Trump appears noticeably more measured when talking about the futility of war than when addressing hot-button domestic issues like immigration and crime. How serious is he about peace?
This weekend, media coverage centered on two related events: the Gaza ceasefire, involving the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and Trump’s pre-inaugural activities. Multiple reports indicated Trump had pressured Prime Minister Netanyahu to secure the ceasefire agreement before the start of his second term, though Trump’s negotiators appeared unconcerned with the agreement’s longevity.
Trump’s national security advisor, Mike Waltz, has recently revealed the nature of the agreement with Netanyahu: Trump pressured Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire, but with the understanding that once it took effect, the US would support Israel’s decision to end it if Netanyahu deemed Hamas’ compliance unsatisfactory. Top Trump official says US will back renewed Israeli offensive in Gaza if needed | The Times of IsraelThe deal appears largely transactional: Netanyahu delivers Trump a diplomatic victory at the start of his presidency while preserving his option to abort the phased captive exchange process and continue the war, thereby maintaining his grip on power.
The three six-week phases, if implemented, would end the war and the Israeli occupation of Gaza. But Netanyahu does not seem to be ready to end the war. This should come as no surprise: if the ceasefire succeeds, Netanyahu will be held accountable for corruption charges and questioned about his failure to secure Israel in the months leading up to the October 7th attacks.
I watched the first hours of the truce with mixed emotions: relief at the release of captives on both sides, but skepticism about the motivations and double standards. The media’s intensive coverage of Israeli hostages and their families, contrasted with minimal attention to Palestinian suffering in Gaza and the West Bank, was particularly striking – the hostages’ stories screamed across the headlines, while Gaza’s humanitarian crisis received at best a nod.
While the ceasefire has inspired global hopes for peace in Gaza, Netanyahu has assured his constituents that once the hostages return, he intends to pursue Hamas militarily and maintain control over Gaza, suggesting continued occupation of the Palestinian enclave. Netanyahu draws support from a significant portion of Israeli society who believes that defeating Hamas and Hezbollah would compel Palestinian and Lebanese communities to accept Israel’s regional dominance. Not all Israelis wish to continue the war, having observed that Hamas is a movement that cannot be eliminated by force.
Some Israelis appear to maintain a blame-the-victim mindset: regardless of Palestinian civilian casualties in Israel’s “war on terror,” responsibility is shifted to Palestinians for tolerating fighters in their neighborhoods, whether or not they support armed resistance. Despite mounting Israeli casualties, repeated hostage crises, continued insecurity about the future, and the erosion of Israel’s moral standing, many Israelis continue to argue that their right to self-defense absolves them of responsibility for Palestinian civilian casualties.
For eight decades, Israeli leadership has maintained a consistent narrative: security can only be achieved through force, and resistance to the occupation is always terrorism. This framework portrays Palestinian resistance fighters as irredeemable adversaries unworthy of survival.
If Trump is to reverse Israeli annexation of the Palestinian territories and parts of Lebanon and Syria, he will need to be personally involved. He will have to stand up to Netanyahu, defend justice, and prevent Israel from continuing to expand its borders in a futile and irrational search for security and legitimacy. On the other hand, if Trump relies exclusively on his current team of Middle East advisors, this ceasefire is unlikely to reach its third phase.
Ghassan Rubeiz is the former Middle East Secretary of the World Council of Churches. Earlier, he taught psychology and social work in his country of birth, Lebanon, and later in the United States, where he currently lives. For the past twenty years, he has contributed to political commentary and delivered occasional public talks on subjects related to peace, justice, and interfaith. You can reach him at rubeizg@gmail.com
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Arab America. The reproduction of this article is permissible with proper credit to Arab America and the author.
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