The political gathering dispersed on the evening of Monday, 13 October 2025. It didn’t follow Middle Eastern time, which prioritises this region’s leaders, but Trump time, according to which the timing and duration of meetings are set to suit the whims of the US president.
The day began early, as Trump arrived ahead of schedule at Ben Gurion Airport, after which hostages were exchanged and Trump addressed the Knesset. That speech proved an opportunity for the US to display its pro-Israeli bias in fullest colour. Trump went so far as to call on Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Prime Minister Netanyahu, who had been indicted on various corruption charges. The implication was that this would not only be a favour to a friend, but also a way to alleviate the great pressures of waging a war.
That war – the fifth Gaza war, which no one had thought would end – has come to a halt. Amid the hopeful celebrations that this would usher in peace, the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh witnessed a night filled with optimism.
What actually happened is that Hamas and Israel fulfilled the first point of Trump’s 20-point initiative. Hamas handed over the living hostages and four bodies. In return, Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Some of those had been languishing in Israeli prisons for decades; most had been rounded up during the current war.
Yet while the spirit of peace hovered over the “City of Peace”, where more than 20 international representatives had gathered, the hidden truth lurking in the darkness was that the “day after” would usher in no joy. That “day after” brought about, rather, a series of disasters, starting with Hamas’ inability to produce all the expected 28 dead Israeli hostages. This shortfall, which was distressing to the hostages’ families, was sufficient for Netanyahu to start reducing the number of aid trucks, which had just begun to enter Gaza to rescue people from mass starvation.
Hamas, in turn, accused Israel of failing to withdraw to the first “yellow line” as agreed, even though Hamas had already begun to eliminate the tribal militias which had been resisting the continuation of a war that had turned into a genocide. The overall situation became increasingly tangled, suggesting that peace is not at hand, but rather giving way to new forms of violence. Those, moreover, are likely to escalate, whether between Hamas and Israel or between Hamas and certain tribes, which could spiral into a small-scale civil war.
The unexpected start of the post-war period, with causes for foreboding jarring against the celebratory scenes, underscores the need to consider how to handle a fragile situation fraught with explosive contradictions.
What actions should be taken regarding the next steps in the process: ensuring the Israeli withdrawal, the disarmament of Hamas, and the deployment of the promised security stabilisation force? Such are some of the most urgent questions that surfaced after the ceasefire. At times, the discussion broached even more complex and long-term matters, such as reconstruction and the process and timing of transferring power to a new Palestinian leadership.
There was never any intention to implement 20 points of the Trump initiative in one go. The logic was to proceed one step at a time, whereby the successful completion of one point would improve relations between the warring parties and make them more receptive to the next, which would be more complicated and necessitate greater flexibility.
The main frame-of-reference for these points is the person of Donald Trump, the author and guarantor of them all. Both the Palestinians and the Israelis have turned to him whenever disputes intensified, and his response has been to stress again that the “war is over.” However, the problem is that Trump has returned to the US, which has just become mired in a federal budget crisis, with a partial shutdown leaving only essential services functioning. In addition, the Ukraine war is once again clamouring for Washington’s attention and peace-making abilities.
At the time of writing – just a week before a critical juncture, which is growing more delicate by the day – Trump has just appointed his son-in-law Jared Kushner his personal representative, alongside his envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. They are currently trying to untangle the complexities surrounding the Palestinian situation. This entails identifying a legitimate authority recognised as the sole representative of the Palestinian people, but one that was not party to the war. Hamas, for its part, has created its own realm of authority in Gaza, which has been cut off from the rest of Palestine and the Palestinian government under the Oslo framework. Hamas remains the de facto power on the ground in Gaza and is still armed.
At this juncture between a war that has stopped and a volatile ceasefire, little remains of the great hopes that accompanied Trump’s visit and his promises. As things stand, either the guarantors who attended the Sharm El-Sheikh conference must resolve the loose ends, or the Arab states most invested in regional stability should take the initiative, firstly, to reconcile the Palestinians among themselves and, secondly, to mediate between Hamas or the Palestinian Authority (or both) and Israel.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 23 October, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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