How Trump took credit for the Gaza ceasefire – and then let it unravel

Washington, DC – After a brief but brief restraint, images of Palestinian children who were killed by Israeli bombardment are now back in the news.

The ceasefire that had put an end to Israel’s occupation of Gaza has broken, and the region is once more at war, almost two months after Donald Trump took office.

Despite Trump’s own pledge to bring about peace in the Middle East and other parts of the world, that is unacceptable.

Trump credited the truce earlier this year with bringing it to an end to the conflict, but he is now supporting Israel’s additional offensives.

According to analysts, Trump, a steadfast supporter of Israel, was more interested in making money off of securing the ceasefire than actually ending the conflict. Additionally, he made an argument about the need to relocate Gaza’s residents to a resort in the style of the Riviera.

According to Josh Ruebner, a lecturer at Georgetown University’s Program on Justice and Peace, “we could see evidence of Trump’s insincerity in the ceasefire almost immediately after he took office,” adding that “when he started calling for the forced displacement and ethnic cleansing of all Palestinians from Gaza on a permanent basis.”

It’s not surprising that the Trump administration has authorized the continuation of widespread Israeli hostilities against Palestinians in Gaza.

Early warning signs

In the weeks leading up to the most recent bombardment, there were indications that Trump was not interested in upholding the ceasefire, either, and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had no intention of fully honoring it.

Trump stated in early February that he had “no guarantees that the peace will prevail in Gaza.”

Netanyahu claimed that the ceasefire was “temporary” even before it entered effect in January, and that both Joe Biden and Trump had given “their full backing to Israel’s right to return to fighting.”

In addition, Israel has repeatedly violated the agreement by firing at Palestinians almost daily and preventing mobile homes into the area where many buildings have been leveled or unsafe.

Then, on March 2, Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza-bound humanitarian aid.

Three phases were supposed to be in the ceasefire agreement. As the guns started to go silent, about 30 Israeli prisoners and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners were released in the opening stage, which came to an end in early March.

However, Israel refused to participate in the second stage of the deal, which would put an end to the conflict for all parties. In the end, reconstruction of the area would have been the focus of a third stage.

Netanyahu and the Trump administration instead resisted extending the ceasefire’s initial period. Hamas, a Palestinian organization, has stated that a legally binding pact exists between all parties, so there is no need for any new initiatives.

Trump benefited from Truce because it “served its purpose.”

Ruebner claimed that Trump had only pressed Israel to agree to an end to the conflict in order to force a temporary ceasefire.

Trump and Netanyahu made the same statement in a February press conference that he wanted to “own” Gaza&nbsp and make it a “Riviera of the Middle East.”

The US president authorized Israel to “resume this frightening scale of violence” against Palestinians, according to Ruebner, adding that Trump’s proposal received widespread international opposition.

The US president, who had promised to leave a “peacemaker” legacy in his inauguration speech, has helped to kill hundreds of Palestinian civilians, including children, in the days since Israel has renewed its assault on Gaza.

The truce, according to research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, “served its purpose” for Trump, and she was surprised that it lasted for weeks.

Sheline claimed that Trump’s motivation to demand a ceasefire was to demonstrate that he could accomplish what Biden could not before even entering the White House.

There was a lot of skepticism about the ceasefire’s passage at the time it was put into effect, because it would involve negotiations for a more permanent cessation of hostilities, which Israel and specifically Netanyahu had no intention of agreeing to.

Trump “bears considerable responsibility” for the ceasefire’s collapse, according to the Center for International Policy (CIP), a think tank based in the US.

While Trump’s team initially succeeded in negotiating the hostage release and ceasefire, his team has since enabled this massive failure in diplomacy through a number of blatant errors, according to Dylan Williams, CIP’s vice president for government affairs.

A “showman”

Williams cited Trump’s “obscene proposal” to force the Palestinians to leave Gaza, as well as his support for Netanyahu’s effort to rewrite the ceasefire agreement, as factors that made him a “full partner in this bloodshed.”

The Trump administration has unwavering support for Israel and its military operation in Gaza despite the death toll of civilians.

Trump was referred to as a “showman” who wanted a “big thing” to boast about by YL Al-Sheikh, a Palestinian American author and organizer for the Democratic Socialists of America.

Al-Sheikh argued, however, that the US president has failed to convince Netanyahu to end the conflict and force Hamas to release the prisoners who are still at large.

Al-Sheikh said, “So he just wants to pummel on somebody.” He continued, “the natural target” is the target.

What will happen next, then?

Analysts worry that the Israeli offensive, which has already been characterized as a genocide by leading rights organizations and UN experts, will grow and cause more casualties.

Sheline claimed that Trump and Netanyahu have a mutual desire to evict Palestinians from Gaza through ethnic cleansing and forced exile.

Source: Aljazeera