Gaza: Why The Delay? – OpEd |
On September 30, the day after President Trump’s ceasefire plan for Gaza was launched, a report in the National – the English language journal published in the United Arab Emirates – described the plan as “booby-trapped” because “every provision in the plan is kind of tied to other provisions.” That observation is true enough, but the 20-point plan embodies a further weakness – the omission of a timetable for completing each of the three stages envisaged.
The inter-dependence between the various provisions of the plan, together with the lack of a clear deadline for the achievement of each stage, have together resulted in its progress being slowed to a snail’s pace.
Under the plan, the first phase required a cessation of hostilities and then, over the next 72 hours, the release by Hamas of all living hostages together with the remains of the deceased. Meanwhile Israel would free Palestinian prisoners, aid and relief would flow into Gaza under international supervision, and most IDF troops would withdraw to an agreed “yellow line”.
This yellow line refers to a non-physical demarcation boundary, drawn on a map of the region, marking the initial phase of Israel’s partial withdrawal from parts of the enclave. This line divides Gaza into two roughly equal zones – Hamas to the west; the IDF to the east. In some areas Israeli forces have marked the line with yellow concrete blocks, but because the blocks do not precisely align with the agreed demarcation, a certain amount of confusion reigns on the ground.
Unfortunately, without a built-in requirement to complete........