A glimmer of hope for Palestinians and Israel after two years of war

Today marks two years since the brutal terrorist attack on Israel by the Palestinian movement Hamas. It murdered 1,200 citizens of the Jewish state, more than 250 were taken hostage. Shock on the Israeli side quickly gave way to anger, and the massacre became the trigger for a military operation in Gaza against Hamas.

But the idea that Hamas would be eliminated quickly soon fell by the wayside. Israel has found itself in a situation of endless war. It has affected the civilian population of Gaza the most. A large part of it was razed to the ground, about 60,000 Palestinians lost their lives, and the humanitarian crisis reached unprecedented proportions. Attempts at a diplomatic solution to another bloody Middle East war ended in failure.

But now a 20-point peace plan by US President Donald Trump is on the table. At its core is the cessation of fighting, the release of the remaining Israeli hostages for imprisoned Palestinians in Israel, the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza, as well as the disarmament and departure of Hamas fighters. A cabinet of Palestinian technocrats should take over the administration of Gaza under the supervision of an international committee led by Trump. The Gaza Strip should be demilitarized with the participation of Arab countries.

According to the White House chief, a peace plan with Hamas, Arab and Muslim countries was intensively negotiated over the weekend, and indirect talks on a ceasefire in Egypt began on Monday. They are already bearing their first fruits: although Hamas rejected its disarmament last week, it changed its mind over the weekend and has already agreed to hand over its weapons to the new Gaza administration. But the situation may be further complicated by the continuation of combat operations by the Israeli army despite Trump's calls for them to end.

However, Netanyahu finds himself under pressure at home. Opinion polls suggest that the majority of the Jewish state's population favors an agreement with Hamas to release hostages and end the war. Economic problems are growing. The1,300 thousand reservists drafted into the army are missing from the country's economy. Israel's central bank estimates that two years of war have cost the country $55.6 billion. Israel's international isolation due to the way it is led is also growing, including by some of Israel's allies in the West.

On the other hand, key Arab countries want a peaceful solution and can therefore pressure Hamas to accept it. This is especially true for Qatar, which probably not coincidentally received unprecedented security guarantees from Trump on October 1: any armed attack on Qatar will be considered a direct threat to US security. This is a response to the Israeli rocket attack on September 9.

The British weekly The Economist believes that although there is a risk that Hamas and Netanyahu may eventually sabotage the agreement, Trump's plan still offers the best way out of the tragedy in Gaza.

Now the point is that the "hope for peace" does not disappear as it did in Ukraine.   

Miloš Balabán, Právo Daily