Will a ceasefire bring Palestinians closer to statehood dream?

Netanyahu delayed his security cabinet's vote on the ceasefire deal after accusing Hamas of backtracking on the agreement, claiming Hamas was trying to "extort last-minute concessions". Israeli officials claimed that Hamas was objecting to a part of the agreement that gave Israel the ability to veto the release of certain Palestinian prisoners.

Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official told AFP there was "no basis" to the Israeli allegations and that Hamas remained committed to the deal announced Wednesday night.

In the meantime, Israel has continued its military offensive on Gaza, with the latest round of air strikes killing more than 80 Palestinians in the coastal enclave.

Claiming credit

The continued wrangling between Israel and Hamas over the small print of the deal has not stopped both the Biden and Trump camps from claiming credit for the breakthrough in the talks, which has finally resulted in both Israel and Hamas accepting the terms of a deal first outlined by Biden back in May.

While Trump insists that it was his intervention in the process after winning November's presidential poll and his threat that "all hell would break out" if Hamas did not agree to release the remaining Israeli hostages in time for his inauguration that forced the breakthrough, Biden remains insistent that his administration deserves to take all the credit.

In his press conference announcing the ceasefire, Biden said the deal had been "developed and negotiated by my team", even though he conceded it would be largely implemented by the incoming administration." Praising the team of US diplomats who helped to broker the deal, he remarked, "The Bible says blessed are the peacemakers. Many peacemakers helped make this deal happen."

Indeed, such is Biden's determination to hail the ceasefire as the main foreign policy achievement of his presidency, he can hardly bring himself to give Trump any credit for the breakthrough, even though all the indications suggest the incoming president's contribution was significant.

His petulance on the subject was clearly evident when, at the end of the press conference, a journalist shouted, "Who do you think deserves credit for this, Mr. President, you or Trump?"

"Is that a joke?" was Biden's terse reply, as he then proceeded to leave accompanied by Vice-President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Biden's refusal to give Trump any credit certainly did not escape the president-elect's attention, with Trump posting on his Truth Social media network,  "This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signalled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans and our Allies."

Apart from Trump's own dramatic intervention in the proceedings, the role played by Steve Witkoff, the billionaire Florida real estate magnate who has been appointed Trump's special Middle East envoy, also appears to have had a major impact on the outcome, not least his success in persuading Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin to sign up to the deal.

Witkoff is reported to have had a "tense" meeting with Netanyahu last weekend, which ultimately resulted in the Israeli premier agreeing to accept the terms of the deal, an outcome the Biden administration had failed to achieve despite months of intensive negotiations.

With Netanyahu on board, Witkoff was able to travel to Qatar, where the ceasefire talks were being conducted, to provide assurances to Hamas negotiators that Israel was serious about ending military operations in Gaza.

Bigger ambitions?

Just how the implementation of the deal ultimately plays out remains to be seen, but the far bigger question is what a ceasefire in Gaza—assuming it is fully implemented—will mean for ordinary Palestinians and whether it will help their long-standing quest for statehood.

There has already been much talk in Washington of Trump wanting to implement a comprehensive peace deal for the Middle East, with the president-elect keen to win a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.

A major stumbling block, though, to making significant progress on the question of Palestinian statehood will be enduring concerns among Arab leaders over Trump's personal commitment to Israel, which, so long as its current right-wing government led by Netanyahu remains in power, is completely opposed to the notion of Palestinian statehood.

When Trump negotiated the Abraham Accords during his first term in office, which resulted in several Arab states normalising ties with Israel, critics claimed that it did not pay sufficient attention to the Palestinian issue.

If any future talks Trump initiates post the Gaza ceasefire aimed at bringing lasting peace to the Middle East are to succeed, then they will have to properly address the Palestinian issue and the Palestinians' long-standing quest for statehood.