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• THE PEOPLE THE HELPLESS WORLD PERFORCE FORGOT
• Trump ends Gaza war but is denied Nobel Prize for Peace
  

Tomorrow, as the smoke of battle slowly drifts away from this godforsaken strip of land in the Middle East, millions of Palestinians will emerge from their squalid dens of fear and go down on their knees and pray to their Almighty God for making them survive all the thousand deaths and terrors of a brutal two-year war, a war relentlessly persecuted by an insatiable bloodlust for revenge.

With Trump’s announcement on Thursday that Hamas will be releasing all the surviving hostages on Monday, dancing broke out on the streets of Tel Aviv as families of those taken hostage joyously awaited the grand reunion with their loved ones. But on the streets of Gaza, there were no such celebrations.

Standing in the midst of the rubble and debris, all they could see was the same desolation they felt in the wasteland of their hearts. All they could hear were the same sighs of quiet relief that their hopes of peace, which had soared in the morn, had not died with the going down of the sun in the eve but had remained to fortify their spirits with courage to brave the droves of drones that rode on nightmares of war in the long and seemingly endless night.

But, as they collectively know, this is merely a brief respite from the havoc of war, a temporary reprieve granted to the condemned.

Time and time again, it has happened in the past and will, no doubt, happen again in the future. The compelling lessons of history have shown Jews and Muslims have sometimes lived in conflict and sometimes have peacefully co-existed. These lessons of history have gone unheeded for centuries and both remain genetically unable to sift grain from chaff, good from bad, and both suffer as a result.

The mutual hatred they share towards one another, the deep-seated mistrust that keeps them daggers drawn against each other, and the hatred and mistrust historically spawned from the same womb of revenge, from the same ‘eye for an eye’ ideology held with the deepest faith and fanatically enforced with a bloodlust not easily sated, cannot remain buried in these shifting desert sands for too long but will inevitably raise its demonic head on some eerie moonless star-sprinkled night of Arabia to besiege both the promised and the accursed land with hatred, terror and despair.

THE CHANGED FACE OF GAZA: The smiles return and good cheer lights the faces of Gaza residents. AFP

The return of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons will be but the first phase of the 20-point peace deal. It’s also the easiest to fulfil. Though it will considerably weaken Netanyahu’s bargaining position, bereft as he will be of his raison d’etre to launch drone attacks on Gaza, Trump’s powerful backing will more than compensate for any losses made. Any attempt by Hamas to renege will be, as Trump has sworn, with his own and America’s credibility on the line, met with hellfire.

With that easy obstacle cleared, Israeli and Hamas negotiators, under the stern bald eagle eye of their patron saint Trump, will face a formidable obstacle course with 19 tough hurdles to overcome to simultaneously pip the winning post to dawn a lasting peace in the region.

The only obstacle that awaited negotiations to begin was for the Israeli Cabinet to gather and drag their feet, while Israeli bombardments continued to pound Gaza as if in a ghoulish thirst to drink more Palestinian blood unto the last revengeful dripping drop, before granting formal approval to the Trump-ordained peace plan.

However, on Friday, Israeli Cabinet Ministers formally stamped their seal of approval on Trump’s road map to peace.

In a message posted on his X account, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said, ‘The government has just now approved the framework for the release of all of the hostages, the living and the dead,’ while Hamas’ exiled Gaza chief Khalil Al-Hayya said he had ‘received guarantees from the United States and other mediators that the war was over.’

As Reuters reported, ‘The war has deepened Israel’s international isolation and upended the Middle East, having evolved into a regional conflict that has drawn in Iran, Yemen and Lebanon. It also tested the U.S.-Israeli relationship, with Trump seeming to lose patience with Netanyahu and pressuring him to reach a deal.’

THE PEACEMAKEER: Trump’s plan raises hope for peace to reign supreme in the Middle East

‘Israelis and Palestinians alike rejoiced after the deal was announced, the biggest step yet to end two years of war in which over 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, and return the last hostages seized by Hamas in the deadly attacks that started the assault.’

Two years ago this October week, the world saw the dramatic hostage-taking of 251 people, including foreigners, by Hamas terrorists during a music festival near the Gaza border. Israeli military forces swung into action, and thus began the horrendous retaliatory war.

The mystery hand that led Hamas to take Israeli citizens hostage remains unknown, but the damage was done. While it brought worldwide condemnation against Hamas, it gave Israel the excuse it needed. As families of those taken hostage openly wept, Netanyahu openly shed crocodile tears and, raising the jingoist flag, vowed revenge on Hamas.

The Israelis, exercising their right of proportionate response, exceeded far beyond their brief; a once sympathetic world turned horrified at the systematic massacre of the people of Palestine, with intent to wipe out an entire race from the face of, if not the earth, then Gaza, at least.

But Friday saw the Palestinian exodus from northern Gaza due to displacement and famine, due to terror and mass-scale deaths, return in vast numbers to their homeland again as Gaza’s star of peace shone brighter and brighter night after night.

THE INTRANSIGENT: Netanyahu attempt to throw a spanner into the works even after ceasefire

What turned the wretched grim face of Gaza into one of good cheer and rounded smiles? What had made hope that fled return to take permanent residence in the blood-drenched, tear-soaked sands of Gaza, amid the rubble of its devastated structures once called home, except the prospect of peace dawning in the region and its realisation with Trump’s miraculous aid?

As one returning refugee to North Gaza said on Friday, ‘I am returning, even if it’s to the rubble of my home. I will set up a tent and live here, for I will be living in my own homeland.’

Once the current euphoria settles down and ceases, the tough negotiating process will begin. But even before it began, Netanyahu has walked in to throw a spanner into the works.

On Friday, just an hour after the ceasefire came into effect with booming guns falling silent in the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu began his verbal bombardment and shouted his mouth off. It was not the speech of a man genuinely searching for peace but determined, instead, to remain, with boots on the ground, in control of Gaza.

In his speech he combatively declared, ‘Hamas agreed to the deal only when it felt the sword resting on its neck, and it is still on its neck …. Hamas will be disarmed, and Gaza will be demilitarised … If this is achieved the easy way, so much the better. And if not, it will be achieved the hard way.’

And Hamas showed its own intransigence as well by rejecting the demand for its own disarmament. The peace deal specifically requires Hamas to disarm in exchange for an amnesty.

Point 6 of the peace deal to which Hamas agreed in toto declares, ‘Once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries.’

Furthermore, it is fortified by Point 13, which states, ‘Hamas and other factions agree to not have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly, indirectly, or in any form. All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt.’

‘There will be a process of demilitarisation of Gaza under the supervision of independent monitors, which will include placing weapons permanently beyond use through an agreed process of decommissioning, and supported by an internationally funded buyback and reintegration programme all verified by the independent monitors. New Gaza will be fully committed to building a prosperous economy and to peaceful coexistence with their neighbours.’

Previously Hamas had said it would not disarm unless a sovereign Palestinian state was established. Hamas knows it will become a spent force if it’s disarmed, a redundant group of terrorists impotent without its gun.

President Trump has said the issue of Hamas surrendering its weapons would be addressed in the second phase of the peace plan. ‘There will be disarming,’ he told reporters, adding there would also be “pullbacks” by Israeli forces.

While 19 points have been left in the cauldron to simmer and stir with Trump’s ladle, world leaders welcomed the prospect of peace with open arms.

While paying an official start visit to India, Britain’s Prime Minister Starmer said from Mumbai, ‘This is a moment of profound relief that will be felt all around the world, but particularly for the hostages, their families, and for the civilian population of Gaza, who have all endured unimaginable suffering over the last two years.’

‘I am grateful for the tireless diplomatic efforts of Egypt, Qatar, Türkiye and the United States, supported by our regional partners, in securing this crucial first step. This agreement must now be implemented in full, without delay, and accompanied by the immediate lifting of all restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid to Gaza.’

With India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi beside him, the British Prime Minister Keir Stamer finally ended his brief speech by declaring, ‘We call on all parties to meet the commitments they have made, to end the war, and to build the foundations for a just and lasting end to the conflict and a sustainable path to a long-term peace. The UK will support these crucial immediate steps and the next stage of talks to ensure the full implementation of the peace plan.’

Modi, somewhat chagrined over Trump’s tariff rates, grudgingly acknowledged it was Trump’s plan but gave full credit to Netanyahu for executing it.

In an X post, he said, ‘We welcome the agreement on the first phase of President Trump’s peace plan. This is also a reflection of the strong leadership of PM Netanyahu. We hope the release of hostages and enhanced humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza will bring respite to them and pave the way for lasting peace.’

How long the newly dawned peace will last or how durable it will be, no one can answer nor second guess with certainty but say, as both Jews and Palestinians, with faith in their hearts and a prayer on their lips, will say, ‘There but for the grace of God, go peace.’