For those of us who want to see an end to the Gaza genocide and the establishment of a free Palestine, President Donald Trump has definitely helped the cause by creating a framework for an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian hostages and prisoners of war. However, Trump’s so-called Peace Plan has one major flaw. Though U.S. and UK support to help rebuild Gaza is welcome, Palestinians were not consulted as part of the overall plan. The peace initiative is to be overseen by leaders of Western, former colonial powers that had initiated and funded the conflict since the beginning.
If the ceasefire doesn’t evolve into peace, and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fails to allow significant amounts of aid into Gaza and the genocide resumes, the only respite for Palestinians would be if Netanyahu follows his stated desire to attack Iran again. That in turn may trigger full-scale Palestinian resistance, and likely Hezbollah and Yemeni forces joining the fray.
Meanwhile, wealthy Israelis might do as they did during the 12-day war as Iran pummeled Israel, flee to Cyprus, where they have been building luxury apartments and shops and employing UK-US military bases to house and deploy fighter jets. If Trump restrains Bibi from continuing the genocide, then Netanyahu will be itching to fight again to retain power. What would happen then is anyone’s guess.
Genevieve Harris-Fraser
Orange