No peace plan and no ceasefire in Gaza
JVL Introduction
Below are two articles from the New Arab, the first (with link at the end of the introduction ) written a few days before and the other written the day after Netanyahu rejected Trump’s 15 point peace plan. Trump claims not to be too bothered by this rejection, saying it is just because of Israel’s forthcoming general election in October. The first outlines clearly what was (going) wrong with the plan making it clear that no peace had been delivered and not even very much humanitarian aid.
Israel’s elections take place a year after the so called ceasefire was agreed, a ceasefire which Hamas has kept to and Israel has not. Israel’s air strikes are barely mentioned on the legacy media still less any questioning of why Hamas should be expected to give up every single weapon before Israel withdraws an inch. (remembering it is already fully occupying 70% of the Strip when it was “only” 53% at the time of the “ceasefire”.) I have been waiting to hear the question “when will Israel give up its weapons trained on Palestine and Palestinians? When will Israel end the occupation and control of every aspect of Palestinian life?
Less covered but is that Netanyahu has also stated emphatically that there will never be a Palestinian State. He has always opposed this and done everything he could possibly do to make a State based on the West Bank and Gaza an impossibility.
In reality the explicit rejection of the plan will make little difference to people in Gaza and, if the governments of the world are serious about humanitarian concerns the need for them to sanction Israel is more vital than ever. Above all the USA must pull the plug on its weapons sales, donations and other support to Israel. Surely, at least until Israel implements the terms of the agreement it had already signed up to, an agreement hugely in its favour, this is the least that can be demanded.
This article was originally published by The New Arab on Sat 1 Aug 2026. Read the original here.
Trump's Board of Peace for Gaza has delivered anything but
Despite the Gaza deal, over 6 months of Donald Trump’s board of peace have shown his promises will amount to little in the face of Israel’s ongoing crimes.
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I’d like to start by bearing witness to the immense courage, determination and moral values of the tiny minority of Israelis who stand up for human decency in spite of all the pressures on them not to do so. While I HOPE I’d follow their examples, I’m not at all confident I’d manage to…
It seems very clear the Israeli government and much of Israeli society have no intention of negotiating peace the goal is the removal of all other non-Jewish communities by force. ANY type of force seems acceptable – including mass murder. That being so, I feel the only hope of stopping the ongoing genocide is through overwhelming external pressure.
Israel has now lost the “shield” of its longstanding alliance with America. The USA’s forced withdrawal from the Middle East means the regional powers (Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt) are recalibrating their own relationships with each other and with China, developments that increase Israel’s isolation and vulnerability. The last 3 years have seen very high emigration from Israel (particularly of high-earning Israelis) and shrinkage of the country’s tax income. IDF leaders have warned Israel’s armed forces need to be 6 times larger than they are now to fight all the wars the Israeli government demands – but there isn’t enough state income even to meet current military expenditure let alone an adequately sized army.
Perhaps Israel will soon become fragile enough to be forced to make peace?