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AS donald trump announced one A “new dawn” for the Middle East. on your Gaza peace summit In Sharm El SheikhFacebook reminded me of this exactly 11 years ago till dayI was also in an Egyptian resort town, covering another Gaza Peace summit after another bloody war between Hamas And israel,
The 2014 Gaza summit in Sharm was also packed with world leaders discussing who would pay the bill. It also focused on “the day after”. And this, strangely, included Tony Blair.
At the time, the former British Prime Minister was deftly avoiding my questions in favor of waxing lyrical about Abdel Fattah el-Sisi – the former military chief who recently became Egypt’s president – who continues to mediate and host events today.
Even after more than a decade Blair himself is backThis time on Trump’s orders, to lead a so-called “peace board” to oversee the governance of Gaza.
The same powerful people are talking similar vague talks and making similar empty promises – only now the situation is even more urgent and serious, and the violence is unprecedented.
Once again, everyone is speaking in almost completely contradictory terms about a present that does not reflect reality and a magical future that, given the vast issues that need to be addressed (and have not been), seems impossible to reach.
And less than 24 hours after Donald announced this “permanent peace”, Palestinians were still being killed in Gaza, aid trucks were blocked from going into Gaza and controversy broke out about Hamas’s failure to return the bodies of dead Israeli hostages.
All of these serious, and sadly all predictable, factors threaten to derail the entire ceasefire process.
Palestinian health officials gave this information Seven people are having their homes inspected in eastern Gaza Killed by Israeli drones while violating the fragile ceasefire.
The Israeli army denied this and said Independent That individuals had passed a “yellow line” to which they had to return. However, Israeli journalists, suggest that the army There are invisible lines that Palestinians unknowingly cross.
Inside Gaza, internal violence erupted, with horrific videos shared online purportedly showing Hamas militants executing people they accused of being “criminals and collaborators with Israel” in the middle of a public square.
In Israel, the largest group representing the hostages called on its government to immediately suspend all ceasefire implementation, as it accused Hamas of violating the terms of the agreement by handing over only four of the 28 remaining bodies of the dead hostages.
In response, Israel has decided not to open the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt – one of the major crossing points for aid deliveries, and will reduce the amount of supplies being flown in until all remains are returned.
And so, even the initial and basic steps of the agreement – cessation of hostilities, exchange of citizens on both sides, beginning of a safe phased withdrawal, and delivery of more aid – have already shown major cracks.
It seems impossible to wade through this simple and small starting point in the difficult – even extremely difficult – task of trying to find a fair, equitable and extremely workable peace agreement for Israel and Palestine. The Gordian Knot of a problem that people have been trying to solve for literally generations.
And so yesterday, as the Facebook notification popped up presenting a strange time-lapse coincidence of two post-war Gaza summits that took place exactly 11 years apart, I realized that Israel, Palestine, and the wider region will remain trapped in a dystopian, ever-violent Groundhog Day.
That is, unless there is a sincere international commitment to directly address the fundamental questions and problems that have remained unresolved for generations.
These include: Palestinian self-determination and Israeli occupation; accountability for violations of international law; And a path to dismantling the never-ending layers of trauma and violence, allowing for just peace and security for all.
Otherwise, we may find ourselves back in Sharm el-Sheikh in 2030—with little, if anything left to discuss after the coming massacre.