by Amal Zadok
The newly announced Gaza ceasefire deal is being widely criticized as fundamentally flawed—a political theatre designed to secure accolades for its architects rather than justice for Palestinians or genuine peace for the region.
Despite the celebratory messaging and headline-making promises, the underlying dynamics of ethnic cleansing, settler violence in the West Bank, and entrenched rejections of a two-state solution continue unabated.
This article analyzes the ceasefire’s context, the international reaction—especially President Trump’s frustrated pursuit of the Nobel Peace Prize—and the prospects of renewed conflict in both Palestine and the wider Middle East.
A Ceasefire With No Guarantees
Despite high-profile announcements, what the Gaza ceasefire offers in concrete terms to Palestinians is gravely insufficient. On October 9, 2025, a new agreement, heavily promoted by President Trump as a historic peace initiative, ostensibly promised a cessation of fighting, staged hostage exchanges between Hamas and Israel, and increased humanitarian aid to Gaza. In exchange, Israeli military forces were to withdraw partially, and the lives of the remaining Israeli hostages would theoretically be secured through a phased release, balanced by the liberation of about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners currently in Israeli jails (Reuters, 2025; BBC, 2025; CNN, 2025).
However, the deal’s mechanics are telling: Israeli troops will maintain control over more than half of Gaza, and a multinational armed force under US oversight is tasked to monitor the truce (BBC, 2025; CNN, 2025). Yet, for Palestinians in Gaza and even more acutely in the West Bank, the so-called peace offers little material change. Settler violence and property seizures by Zionist groups in the West Bank have intensified throughout the negotiations, with the Israeli army escalating its actions against Palestinian communities (Aljazeera, 2025a; Britannica, 2025).
International observers note that in the days before and after the ceasefire’s declaration, Israeli air raids and armed incursions have continued in multiple “exception zones,” and Israeli settlers—emboldened by government policy—have persisted in taking over Palestinian homes and farmlands (Aljazeera, 2025a; United Nations OCHA, 2025). Amnesty International and the UN report over 1,800 attacks by Israeli settlers since 2023, including killings, beatings, and the destruction of property (Aljazeera, 2025a). The latest ceasefire never conditioned its implementation on the cessation of West Bank violence and did not include guarantees for Palestinian rights or protection from dispossession.
Hostages and Political Theatre
The released hostages—on both sides—have become the central media spectacle of the deal. Hostage exchanges, while emotionally charged for the families involved, are a recurring feature of Israel-Hamas negotiations with little enduring political impact (BBC, 2025; Britannica, 2025). What emerges is a familiar pattern: an initial round of celebration, then a return to violence (Britannica, 2025).
Observers recall the January 15th truce, another US-mediated temporary pause reportedly linked to Trump’s election win and transition. That deal, too, saw a brief halt in airstrikes and a round of hostage releases, only for Israel’s military campaign to resume with greater force weeks later (Britannica, 2025). The present ceasefire is widely seen as another episode in this “kabuki dance,” a performative but transient break in hostilities that does nothing to address the structural factors underlying the conflict (Britannica, 2025; Wikipedia, 2025).
The Question of Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing
Underlying these “peace deals” is an accusation that cannot be ignored: the ongoing project of ethnic cleansing and, as some international legal scholars and human rights organizations maintain, genocide in Gaza. More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed during the two-year Israeli assault, and massive displacement continues (Reuters, 2025; Britannica, 2025).
The West Bank has seen an expansion of settler enclaves, mass arrests, demolitions, and expulsions targeting Palestinians (Britannica, 2025; United Nations OCHA, 2025). With Israeli authorities refusing to halt settlement growth or address the root causes of violence, the international consensus is that the Zionist project in both Gaza and the West Bank remains geared toward territorial maximalism—at the cost of Palestinian lives and sovereignty (Britannica, 2025; Aljazeera, 2025a; United Nations OCHA, 2025).
Trump, the Nobel Prize, and the Search for Glory
President Donald Trump has made no secret of his desire to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, actively promoting the Gaza ceasefire deal as proof of his peacemaking prowess (Washington Post, 2025a; Aljazeera, 2025b; Euronews, 2025). Openly stating he “deserves” the honor, Trump and his surrogates have lobbied for the prize, highlighting his administration’s role in producing the 20-point peace initiative underpinning the agreement (Washington Post, 2025a; Aljazeera, 2025b; Euronews, 2025).
In fact, official Israeli government accounts circulated images depicting Trump with a Nobel medal in response to the deal, and senior US officials argued that his diplomatic efforts—framed as having delivered peace in “seven or eight wars”—should have been recognized by the Norwegian jury (Washington Post, 2025a; Aljazeera, 2025b; Euronews, 2025).
However, the Nobel Committee controversially awarded the prize elsewhere, reportedly prompting anger and disappointment in the Trump administration and fueling politicized accusations of bias (BBC, 2025b; CNN, 2025a; Independent, 2025).
The short-term ceasefire, therefore, appears at least as much about political accolades as humanitarian outcomes. Critics argue that the initiative was pushed through with unprecedented haste primarily to secure Trump’s Nobel candidacy rather than achieve lasting peace (Aljazeera, 2025b; Euronews, 2025; BBC, 2025b).
Why the Deal Will Not Deliver Peace
The fundamental issues that doom the ceasefire to failure are anchored in the intransigence of both the Israeli and Hamas leadership. Prime Minister Netanyahu has repeatedly and publicly rejected any path to a two-state solution—a central demand not just for Palestinians but for the entire international community (Britannica, 2025).
Simultaneously, all evidence suggests that Hamas will not disarm nor abandon its armed resistance, meaning the logic and machinery of war remain intact (Britannica, 2025; BBC, 2025; ABC, 2025).
What awaits, then, is grimly predictable: Israel will recover its hostages, but the machinery of occupation, dispossession, and blockade will persist. The political establishment in Israel, long wedded to the policies of territorial expansion, shows no sign of retreat or compromise.
Once the ceasefire’s media utility is exhausted—once its architects have benefited from the global acclaim—the bombs, detentions, and home demolitions will almost certainly resume, perhaps in even greater volume than before (Britannica, 2025; Wikipedia, 2025).
The Coming Storm: Iran and Next Steps
With the “performative peace” of the Gaza ceasefire deal already fraying at the edges, regional powers are bracing for what many analysts fear will be an expanded war with Iran (Britannica, 2025). Trump’s own rhetoric on social media—notably his warning that “there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East”—strongly implies renewed military interventions and a hard-line posture towards Iran, inevitably linking the Gaza deal’s failure to a broader regional conflict (Britannica, 2025).
The true legacy of the deal, therefore, is likely not peace but escalation—a “theatre” that, once concluded, will see the return of extreme violence under the same logic and leadership that has sustained it for years.
Without meaningful guarantees for Palestinian rights, a halt to settler violence, and clear steps towards a negotiated two-state future, the project of ethnic cleansing and the reality of genocide will continue, dressed in the temporary trappings of international diplomacy and media spectacle (Aljazeera, 2025a; Britannica, 2025; United Nations OCHA, 2025).
If world leaders and the global public accept this deadly kabuki as ‘peace,’ they become spectators in a theatre that demands blood for applause—where every standing ovation buries the truth deeper under the rubble of Gaza, and the curtain never falls for those condemned to live in the killing fields.
References
ABC. (2025, October 8). Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement. What does it mean? https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-09/israel-and-hamas-gaza-peace-plan-hostage-deal-explainer/105870194
Aljazeera. (2025a, October 10).
Attacks by Israeli army, illegal settlers injure 36 in occupied West Bank. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/10/attacks-by-israeli-army-illegal-settlers-injure-36-in-occupied-west-bank
Aljazeera. (2025b, October 9). Nobel Peace Prize 2025: What are Trump’s credentials and can he win. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/9/nobel-peace-prize-2025-what-are-trumps-credentials-and-can-he-win
BBC. (2025, October 9). What we know about the ‘first phase’ Gaza ceasefire deal. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgqx7ygq41o
BBC. (2025b, October 10). White House blasts Nobel Committee for not awarding Trump. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7842qg15p6o
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CNN. (2025, October 10). Israel-Hamas war: Ceasefire agreement. https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/israel-hamas-gaza-ceasefire-agreement-10-10-25
CNN. (2025a, October 10). Trump speaks with Nobel Peace prize winner Machado after Gaza deal. https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/10/politics/trump-nobel-peace-prize-winner-machado
Euronews. (2025, October 10). US president deserved the Nobel Peace Prize, top Trump advisor says. https://www.euronews.com/2025/10/10/us-president-deserved-the-nobel-peace-prize-senior-trump-advisor-says
Independent. (2025, October 10). Trump claims Nobel Peace Prize winner called and told him he really deserved it. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-truth-social-nobel-peace-prize-b2843249.html
Reuters. (2025, October 8). Gazans trek to ruined homes as Israeli forces pull back. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-hamas-agree-gaza-ceasefire-return-hostages-2025-10-09
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). (2025, October 9). West Bank demolitions and settler attacks data. https://www.ochaopt.org
Washington Post. (2025a, October 10). How much credit does Trump deserve for Gaza ‘peace’ deal? https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/10/10/trump-nobel-peace-prize-ceasefire-gaza
Wikipedia. (2025, May 11). 2025 Gaza war ceasefire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Gaza_war_ceasefire
©️2025 Amal Zadok. All rights reserved.
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