Pyrrhic peace: On the Hamas-Israel ceasefire
A united administration under the Palestinian Authority must be in place
As of now, both sides stay focused on phase one. Trouble could arise when negotiations for the next phases begin. When Israel launched the war, it set two objectives for itself — the destruction of Hamas and the release of hostages. In 15 months of war, Israel has degraded Hamas’s militant infrastructure, but the group has survived and reinvented itself as an insurgency. According to Antony Blinken, the outgoing U.S. Secretary of State, Hamas recruited as many fighters as it had lost during the war. Israel’s inability to destroy Hamas or secure the release of the hostages through the offensive raises serious questions about the IDF’s military tactics in Gaza. This could probably be one of the factors that persuaded Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the ceasefire. But he has not committed to bringing the war to an end. Hamas, on the other side, demands a complete withdrawal of Israel from Gaza. Despite the possible roadblocks, the fact that a ceasefire came into force is welcome news. It provides a desperately needed relief for Gaza and a platform to build further talks. Israel, Palestinians as well as the international mediators should now work towards bridging the gaps in the post-war scenario. Israel will not accept a situation that would leave Hamas as a ruling force in Gaza. A more pragmatic solution is to form a united administration of all Palestinian factions under the leadership of the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority, and then shift the focus towards the reconstruction of Gaza. But for this plan to work and peace to prevail, Israel should be ready to withdraw all its troops from the Gaza Strip.