US peace plan will disrupt Israel-Hamas truce push

Significance

That comes as Hamas yesterday called on Palestinians to step up their confrontations with Israel in response to the killing of a Palestinian teenager in clashes with Israeli security forces in the West Bank. In late 2019, Israel and Hamas began exploring the possibility of a long-term ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and some understandings between the two sides have already been implemented, albeit with little official fanfare. These are now coming under pressure amid Palestinian outrage at a plan to end the conflict unveiled by US President Donald Trump on January 28.

Impacts

• Ahead of March’s election, Netanyahu will come under pressure to act more forcefully in response to escalations.
• The IDF will complete a 1-billion-dollar underground wall around Gaza to prevent tunnels towards the end of 2020.
• Prospects for a truce were always likely to be hindered by Hamas’s ongoing reluctance to hand over Israeli hostages and soldiers’ bodies.
• Hamas may revive Friday protests along the border as of late March.
• Israel will refrain from acting on its threat to annex parts of the West Bank until at least after the election, if not indefinitely.