Fragile ceasefire in Gaza: Trump’s plan is in jeopardy

There is neither real war nor peace in Gaza at the moment. Hamas terrorists are torpedoing Donald Trump’s peace plan with their delaying tactics, writes Kurt Pelda in the “Aargauer Zeitung” newspaper

(Abstract) Donald Trump’s peace plan is in danger of failing, according to Kurt Pelda. Hamas is deliberately delaying the return of Israeli hostages and their bodies in order to gain time. “With their delaying tactics, the Hamas terrorists are torpedoing Donald Trump’s peace plan,” he writes.

Less well known than the exchange of hostages for prisoners is the “macabre partial agreement” on the exchange of dead bodies: For every Israeli corpse “returned”, Hamas would receive 15 Palestinians killed. The terrorists wanted to avoid negotiating the crucial issues – disarmament and renunciation of power.

The agreed ceasefire is “not really being observed”: Following the killing of an Israeli soldier by Hamas, Israel had once again flown air strikes. According to Pelda, Hamas is using the time “to consolidate its power and eradicate competing militias”.

The more Hamas consolidates its control, the less willing Arab states will be to send peacekeeping troops. Without demilitarization and an international presence, Trump’s “highly acclaimed undertaking” will amount to little more than a fragile ceasefire.

Pelda concludes that Trump’s plan is “geared towards quick success stories and not thought through enough” – new battles are therefore inevitable.source: aargauerzeitung,ch (paywall) or on watson.ch (freely accessible).