Gaza ceasefire: Lasting peace will remain elusive without an end to occupation

Good news, for a change, from Egypt on Thursday morning.

A deal has been reached to end Israel's genocidal war in Gaza. In my opinion, the Hamas leadership surely would not have agreed to the deal had there not been concrete gains for the Palestinian people.

Unlike previous ceasefire deals that didn’t last long - due to Israel's violations - or never materialised, this deal is the product of an international effort led by the United States and joined by no less than eight Arab and Muslim countries. 

Such an international coalition seems to constitute a solid guarantee that once the deal is signed, it will be observed. The attendance of two Trump envoys and two very senior Qatari and Turkish officials seemed to confirm this. 

Undoubtedly, the deal was not easy to hammer out. It took several days and nights of rigorous discussions that hovered around Trump’s 20-point plan, believed to be a manipulated version of the plan he originally presented to the Arab and Muslim leaders he met at the UN General Assembly in New York.