A ceasefire won’t stop Israel’s genocidal agenda
alestinians mourn the death of journalist Ahmed Al-Shayyah, killed by an Israeli airstrike following the announcement that a ceasefire deal had been agreed, Nasser Hospital, Khan Younis, 16 January 2025
Tariq Kenney-Shawa writes in +972 on 16 January 2025:
Steven Witkoff, Donald Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy, reportedly didn’t bother with pleasantries when he informed the Israelis that he would be arriving to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last Saturday. When told his visit coincided with Shabbat, meaning the prime minister would be unavailable until the evening, Witkoff made it clear that the Jewish holiday would not interfere with his schedule. Netanyahu, understanding the stakes, went to his office that afternoon to meet the envoy, who subsequently jetted off to Qatar to press further on a ceasefire deal for Gaza.
Little is known of the details of their conversation, but it is clear that Witkoff managed to move Netanyahu more in a single meeting than the entire Biden administration did in over 15 months. On Jan. 15, Israel and Hamas agreed to a multi-phase ceasefire deal that would see Israeli hostages exchanged for Palestinian prisoners and captives, along with an eventual full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
It is too early to tell if this agreement will hold. Israel’s long tradition of violating ceasefires, coupled with the demands of Israeli ministers to continue the genocide, give us reason to be skeptical. But news of the truce has brought indescribable relief to millions in Gaza who ave faced a campaign of annihilation for over a year.
If the ceasefire in Gaza does hold, it will be the material result of dynamics introduced by the incoming Trump administration — a reminder of how easily Washington can influence Israel’s actions if it actually wants to. President Joe Biden, blinded by his commitment to a mythic Zionism that exists solely in his imagination, was unwilling to see how the war was not only morally grotesque in its own right, but also detrimental to both American and Israeli interests in the region.