As of now, Israel and Palestine have agreed to a ceasefire.
And it’s only logical to see a ceasefire as a first step toward peace.
However over the past few weeks they’ve had several ceasefires, none of which have
resulted in a lasting peace.
So, in this conflict, what does a cease fire actually mean?
Well, it basically means just that.
A cessation of military engagement.
And if the cease fire is upheld...a period of relative peace.
But the question of what kind of peace and for how long, depends on the type of cease
fire.
In this current conflict, there have been 3 types of cease fires you’ve likely heard
about in the news.
The first type involves third party groups proposing a ceasefire and immediate peace
talks.
This was the type of ceasefire proposed on July 15th by Egypt and then again on July
25th by the US.
And it sounds great.
Except for the fact that in both cases, one of the two fighting parties rejected the plan.
Hamas rejected Egypt’s plan on the 15th and Israel rejected the US’s plan on the
25th.
So the plans failed and the war continued as if nothing happened.
The second type of ceasefire is humanitarian.
This kind is designed to give civilians in the conflict zone a quick reprieve from fighting
so humanitarian aid can be organized.
It is NOT meant as a step toward peace, and it’s not seen that way by either side.
The current conflict has had 4 such agreements, with varying degrees of success, after which
the war has continued as if nothing happened.
The third type of cease fire is the one that they have now - and it’s the first glimmer
of hope in the current conflict.
Both Israel and Hamas accepted an Egypt-proposed cease-fire.
It’s the first time that they’ve both agreed to a non-humanitarian cease-fire.
And by implication - they’ve essentially agreed to discuss a more “durable peace”.
We can’t know how durable this peace will be, or if the cease fire will even hold, but
it is the type of agreement that could lead to some sort of resolution.
Regardless of whether or not it holds, it is a sign of progress - and it’s the type
of ceasefire we should want.
If you wanna learn more about this topic, click on our video about Hamas and their role
in the region.
Or, if you’re looking for more of a historical slant, click on our video about how the whole
Israeli Palestinian conflict started.
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