Donald Trump has declared the new Gaza peace deal his “greatest diplomatic triumph.” The White House calls it “a historic moment for the Middle East” and “the beginning of a new era of stability.”
Yet behind the grand rhetoric lies a fragile, contradictory arrangement that pleases almost no one — a ceasefire that solves neither the humanitarian catastrophe nor the political roots of one of the world’s longest conflicts.
The deal, brokered by the United States and Qatar, envisions Israel withdrawing most of its forces from Gaza within six weeks — except for limited security zones along the borders. In exchange, Palestinian representatives not directly tied to Hamas would agree to a cessation of hostilities and allow an international administration to coordinate humanitarian aid.
The U.S. pledged up to $15 billion for Gaza’s reconstruction, to be managed by a new international fund, and promised to facilitate a “regional dialogue” between Israel and neighboring Arab states.
On paper, it looks like progress. In practice, it is a temporary truce — a politically convenient pause that avoids the central issue: the future of Palestine itself.
The Two-State Problem Left Untouched
The glaring weakness of Trump’s deal is that it sidesteps the two-state solution entirely — the core of all U.N. resolutions on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, including Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338.
There is no mention of Palestinian sovereignty, of East Jerusalem, or of territorial guarantees. The word “state” itself never appears in the text.
For Palestinians, this is not peace — it is surrender dressed as compromise.
The arrangement treats Gaza not as part of a future Palestine but as a quarantined territory to be managed externally under international supervision.
As Mahmoud al-Salem of the Arab League noted, “Without a genuine path to Palestinian statehood, any peace is a pause before another tragedy.”
Gaza: A City of Ashes
Two years of war have left Gaza in ruins.
According to U.N. data, more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed, with over 70% being women and children.
Entire neighborhoods have been erased. Eight out of ten homes are destroyed or uninhabitable. Hospitals, schools, water and power systems — all gone.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres stated earlier this year that “what we are witnessing in Gaza bears the hallmarks of genocide.”
The International Criminal Court has opened a formal investigation into Israeli actions, yet Washington remains silent.
As the Trump administration celebrates its “peace,” Gaza remains a humanitarian black hole. Tens of thousands live in makeshift tents with no clean water or electricity. Food shortages are critical. Aid convoys trickle in — often too late for those buried under rubble. As the International Committee of the Red Cross warned,
“This ceasefire has not ended the suffering — it has merely changed its form.”
Political earthquake inside Israel
Ironically, even in Israel, the deal has brought division rather than relief.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition is on the verge of collapse.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir — both from far-right factions — have denounced the agreement as “a betrayal.”
Ben-Gvir told the Jerusalem Post: “Gaza is Jewish land. Any concession is a step toward Israel’s destruction.”
These remarks reveal the deep ideological rift at the heart of Israeli politics. For many within the nationalist camp, Gaza is not a security issue but an existential crusade. Even moderate commentators warn that ending the war could end Netanyahu’s political career. As Haaretz wrote, “The prime minister walks on a knife’s edge — trapped between Trump’s applause and his own extremists.”
A “Peace Summit” without peace
The so-called peace summit in Beijing — where Trump announced the agreement — was itself symbolic of the problem. Neither Israel nor the official Palestinian Authority participated. At the table were the U.S., Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia. That absence undermined the entire event. As Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said, “A peace without Palestinians is no peace at all — it’s a stage play.” The summit also exposed the deep rift between Israel and much of the Muslim world. Turkey, Iran, and Lebanon maintain a hard line against Tel Aviv, and Ankara’s relations with Israel are at their lowest point in years.
The Sionist Mindset and the Culture of Revenge
Inside Israel, the rhetoric has grown darker.
Right-wing politicians increasingly frame the destruction of Gaza as a “historic mission.”
Knesset member Meirav Ben-Ari told Channel 12: “We must erase Gaza from the map. As long as they live there, hating us, there will be no peace.” Former defense minister Avigdor Lieberman went further: “Every house in Gaza is a military target. Palestine is a fiction — and it’s time to end it.”
Such statements, once seen as extremist, now reflect mainstream sentiment.
The idea of Gaza as “historic Jewish land” has become a moral justification for annihilation — and an ideological shield against any compromise.
Palestinians without a voice
Perhaps the most damning aspect of Trump’s “peace” is that no Palestinian representatives — neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority — took part in the negotiations.
Their future was decided for them, not by them.
A Hamas spokesperson said bluntly: “We do not recognize this agreement. It restores neither our rights nor our sovereignty. It legitimizes occupation.”
This exclusion underscores what the deal truly represents: not reconciliation, but rearrangement. It is a peace imposed from above, with no justice, no sovereignty, and no Palestinians at the table.
Europe’s confusion and moral blindness
The European Union finds itself in a deeply awkward position.
Officially, Brussels “welcomes” any step toward peace.
Privately, EU diplomats admit that Trump’s deal has left them politically paralyzed.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell remarked:
“This cannot be called sustainable peace if the Palestinian people are absent from it.”
Yet Europe still avoids sanctioning Israel, even after U.N. experts formally recognized its actions in Gaza as genocide.
European capitals have been caught between moral outrage and geopolitical caution — condemning the bloodshed but refusing to confront Washington or Tel Aviv.
For the EU, the “Trump peace” is less a victory than a temporary truce — a pause that leaves Europe morally compromised and strategically irrelevant.
The Arab Response: “Peace Without Justice Is No Peace”
Across the Arab world, the reaction has been cautious and skeptical.
Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia formally endorsed the deal — largely out of diplomatic necessity rather than conviction.
In the Arab press, it is already being called “peace without peace.”
As Al-Ahram wrote, “None of the demands of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative have been met: no Palestinian state, no compensation, no justice.”
The loudest and most defiant reaction came from Turkey.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, speaking at a rally in Ankara, said: “We will not recognize a peace built on the blood of children. Israel must answer for its crimes before any handshake is possible.”
He accused Trump of “rewarding genocide with political theater” and reaffirmed that Turkey “stands with the Palestinian people, not with their oppressors.”
Ankara’s position reflects a broader sentiment across the Arab and Muslim world:
A ceasefire imposed without accountability is no peace — it is submission.
Trump’s personal victory, the region’s collective loss
For Donald Trump, this agreement is a personal trophy.
He presents it as proof of his “deal-making genius” and a campaign centerpiece ahead of the 2026 U.S. midterms.
But to analysts, it is little more than a fragile photo opportunity.
As Foreign Policy noted, “The so-called Gaza peace is a ceasefire built on bones.”
It is designed for headlines, not for history.
Its mechanisms for oversight and enforcement are vague or nonexistent, and its regional implications are volatile.
A fragile future
Israel is beginning a gradual troop withdrawal, but it has not achieved its goals.
Hamas still exists; the idea of Palestinian independence still breathes; and Israeli society remains bitterly divided.
Gaza lies in ruins — destroyed but not defeated.
The people who survived now carry a single conviction: that true peace cannot be dictated by those who bombed them.
The European Union stands confused, the Arab world resentful, and Israel politically fractured.
The only satisfied man in this story is Donald Trump — because this “peace” is not a regional breakthrough but a personal project.
Two years of war have brought the conflict back to its starting point — only with new graves, new grudges, and a devastated Gaza.
As Le Monde observed, “The Gaza war ends where it began — in ashes.”
A peace built on rubble and resentment can only last until the next spark.
And in Gaza, sparks are everywhere.
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