Peace is given a chance in the world’s most troubled region through a treaty between Israel and Hamas — the Palestinian militants — while a similar attempt is in the works for a pact between Israel and Iran. In what high-profile mediator President Donald Trump hailed as a “historic new dawn in the Middle East,” a lasting halt to the prolonged war in the region is in sight. His 20-point peace plan that formed the basis for negotiations between rival sides principally saw the hostages taken by Hamas in its attack on Israel two years ago returning to their homes—other than the scores who “might have died” during their incarceration in Gaza. Notably, the retaliatory strike by Israel in Gaza in 2023 had killed tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians. The signing of the peace deal that also drew in Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, in the presence of Trump at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit in Egypt, involved several regional heavyweights — a guarantee to lasting peace in the Middle East. Significantly, Prime Minister Modi, who had been invited for the ceremony, has instead sent an emissary to represent India while his Pakistan counterpart was present. The first phase of the ceasefire agreement has been coursed through successfully, while details of further phases are not fully explained. There would be “disarming and pull-backs,” among the other concessions that both sides would have to agree on. Significantly, the rebuilding of the devastated Gaza is part of the agenda in which other Arab states flush with funds are expected to take part.
The timing of this peace deal is important. Expectations from Trump and the wider world are that the President would walk away with the Nobel Prize for Peace this year, which is scheduled to be announced on Friday. Trump has claimed that he has made the impossible possible on eight fronts of hostilities, vis-à-vis facilitating peace in areas of war and conflict, in a matter of nine months of his present presidency. This, as claims go, also included the subcontinent where he “halted” a war and restored peace vis-à-vis the Operation Sindoor involving India and Pakistan. Trump himself had made the claim repeatedly, which was supported by circumstantial evidence and is now reinforced by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif while India has rejected this claim. Trump, overall, deserves a peace prize. Notably, an effort for lasting peace in the Middle East, made by Barack Obama as president, had failed to materialize. Trump is set to head for Kuala Lumpur later this month for an Asean Summit, where he’s expected to oversee the signing of a peace deal between Cambodia and Thailand—the neighbours that fought twice there recently and cooled down following intervention by the US president. Trump is more serious about ending the war between Russia and Ukraine than his predecessor Joe Biden. Good efforts deserve wholesome praise. Trump’s negotiating skills and his tough posturings certainly helped. However, not many are convinced yet that the peace in West Asia would be lasting.
