Congratulations to President Trump for Gaza Ceasefire!

Celebrating in Israel But Mourning in Gaza

Jews in Israel are joyful while Palestinians in Gaza are saddened by facing a devastating loss of homeland and about 65,000 people dead. So, there’s celebration on one side and mourning on the other. At least those Gaza Palestinians are relieved that the bombing and killing has stopped. But will this ceasefire agreement hold? And will Palestinians ever achieve their desire to have their own state?

Signing the Agreement

Yesterday, heads of state from several nations gathered at the resort town of Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt—hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi—to celebrate the signing of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. U.S. President Trump and his administration, especially his Jewish son-in-law Jared Kushner, had feverishly put together a 20-point plan that begins with the ceasefire. Following immediately has been getting aid to starving Palestinians and freeing hostages and prisoners.

U.S. President Trump Achieves a Big Deal

Donald Trump came into the Oval Office the first time, in 2017, claiming to a big wheeler and dealer who could make things happen. Yesterday he proved it with the signing of this agreement. So, he is to be commended for this historic beginning in freeing Gaza of war and perhaps leading to a reconstruction of the Gaza Strip that could be much better than what Palestinians had before. Plus, the radical Islamist party Hamas—which ruthlessly governed the Gaza Strip for nearly twenty years and attacked Israel two years ago resulting in Israel’s war in Gaza—has now agreed to no more govern Gaza and to lay down arms. That latter will be the next big step in Trump’s 20-point plan.

Hamas began the implementation of this agreement by releasing its twenty remaining Jewish hostages, and Israel began releasing about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. But Israel is not releasing the main Palestinian prisoner who is incarcerating for a life sentence—Marwan Barghouti. That shows how Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing administration is still strongly opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state. For, Barghouti is the most viable candidate for being a Palestinian leader who could conceivably unite all Palestinians in achieving a two-state solution to their conflict with Israel, of which he has been advocate for a long time.

The U.S. Should Join in Recognizing Palestine

But Trump’s plan does not recognize Palestine as the major western nations did days ago that helped lead to this ceasefire agreement. In fact, when those seven nations’ representatives gathered in New York City at a UN General Assembly meeting to do that very thing, thereby joining 147 nations that had “recognized Palestine” in previous years, beginning in 1988, President Trump refused to join the U.S. with them. Now, the U.S. is becoming more and more isolated as a nation—which is Israel’s #1 ally who furnished it with munitions and other weaponry used in this Gaza War—that refuses to recognize that Palestinians are deserving of their own state.

However, at least the agreement signed yesterday includes the following statement, “The conditions may be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognize as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.” But that still falls short of endorsing a two-state solution or recognizing a Palestinian state, even if this in itself is not much more than a symbolic gesture.

Yesterday, a reporter asked President Trump about Egyptian President El-Sisi’s speech that day in which he had endorsed a two-state solution as the only possible road to peace between Israel and Palestinians. Trump answered, “I’m talking about something very much different. We’re talking about rebuilding Gaza. I’m not talking about single state or double state or two state.”