EDITORIAL: Middle East ceasefire long overdue

The long-overdue Middle East ceasefire was always going to be fraught with glitches. Only a few observers of the decades-long conflict ever believed the implementation of the two-week-old ceasefire would be smooth sailing.

After two weeks of the multifaceted truce, brokered by the US, Qatar and Egypt, guns have not completely gone silent. The process of returning home for most has stalled; Israel still feels insecure to allow free passage to northern Gaza, the Hamas-run strip which has been a war zone for the past 15 months.

However, concrete, albeit slow progress, is being made in bringing about peace to Gaza. After last week’s commencement of the ceasefire, the pact entered its second phase on January 25. Hamas released four, instead of five, female Israeli hostages. The release of the fifth, a civilian, has been delayed until this coming Saturday. The four are young Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) members.

In preceasefire talks, Israeli negotiators insisted on the accelerated release of civilians before military personnel. These are high-value hostages who hold much leverage for the Hamas militants.

But the case of Saturday’s civilian hostage, whose release was deferred to later, is slightly different; it’s not a case of a deliberate breach. The hostage is believed to be held by a jihadist group that is not part of the current arrangements.

In a sign of maturity, a trait long in scarce supply in the region, the Israeli government also freed 200 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday night. In terms of the agreement, most of those released — including those serving life terms for murder and attempted murder — will not be allowed to settle in Gaza. Egypt and Turkey have agreed to host them.

Israel, which still believes it is possible to militarily extinguish Hamas, has to be applauded for following through with the release of the prisoners despite the partial fulfilment of the commitment by its interlocutors. This is a significant confidence builder in achieving long-term peace.

Though Donald Trump, who returned to the White House a week ago, has taken much of the credit, he is not alone. Egypt and Qatar deserve to be commended for shepherding the talks over the past year. The outgoing Washington administration was distracted by the elections of last November and, to a certain extent, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which remains unresolved.

The deportations of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will not make Israel safe; nor will the continued bombardment of Hamas bring lasting peace.

The deportations of hundreds of Palestinians will merely move resentment from Gaza to other countries. They may yet reorganise themselves and launch attacks on Israel.

This increases the surveillance burden on Egypt and Turkey to ensure these groups do not regroup to destabilise Israel. The hawkish administration of Benjamin Netanyahu would use this as an excuse for a resumption of hostilities.

The next few weeks are very important in building confidence and momentum. Nobody knows, for certain, that both sides are earnest in their commitment to ending hostilities. But their word has to be taken at face value, especially after 15 months of misery and hardship the conflict brought to the region.

Critically important will be Israel’s proactive move to open humanitarian corridors and allow Palestinians access to northern parts of Gaza. This is vital for two reasons: first, some, probably very few, may still salvage some of their belongings and survive the winter; and second, they need to dig out and rebury the remains of loved ones who remain buried under the rubble of the past 15 months. The latter is important to bring closure.

The truce envisages the reconstruction of Gaza after the full implementation of the ceasefire. This is crucial. Unlike the other steps in the accord, this will require the rest of the world community to join hands in helping to rebuild human settlements destroyed during the war and helping Palestinians to experience a semblance of normality.

Against this background, it is very concerning that Trump, America’s 47th president, has decided to pause US foreign aid for 90 days. While it is the US’s prerogative to decide where it spends its taxpayers’ money, this decision flies in the face of its efforts to secure peace through the ceasefire.

The abrupt withdrawal of aid to needy recipients such as the Palestinians will cause untold suffering.

To guarantee the agreement in Gaza, the international community, including the US, must step up humanitarian aid. The region has suffered enough.