After 15 months of destruction and extermination, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may or may not have finally agreed to a ceasefire that could see an end to his military’s assault on the Gaza Strip, a swap of prisoners, and a halt to fighting with Hamas and other Palestinian groups.
News of a deal emerged Wednesday, but as this article goes to press, Netanyahu appears to be backing out of the commitment. His office issued a statement saying the cabinet would not vote on the deal as scheduled due to what he claimed was a “last-minute crisis” created by Hamas. The latter, however, denied the allegation and said it was “committed to the ceasefire agreement” that had been announced.
Israeli broadcaster Kan reported Thursday that the real reason for Netanyahu reneging may be a threat from Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to pull his Religious Zionist Party out of the government in protest. Smotrich is also the governor of the occupied West Bank and the most prominent voice in the government advocating the total annihilation of Palestine and its people. According to the network Al Jazeera, Smotrich is demanding that the Israeli military resume “all-out fighting…after the initial phase of the agreement.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who led the effort to sink all previous ceasefire proposals, is also threatening to quit. Without the support of these far-right figures, Netanyahu’s coalition government could collapse.
While wrangling over the deal apparently continues at the highest levels of the Israeli state, the killing in Gaza also carries on. At least 81 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli military in the past 24 hours, with 200 more wounded.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, the only Palestinian-American in Congress, said that achieving real peace hinges on halting the flow of U.S. weapons. Reacting to Israel’s lack of commitment to following through on the deal, Tlaib said on X Thursday: “Genocidal maniac Netanyahu and his cabinet will never stop until we have an arms embargo.”
Same terms as eight months ago
The terms of the purported agreement—if it’s actually implemented—are essentially the same as what has been on the table since last May. In announcing the deal at the White House, President Joe Biden said, “This is the ceasefire agreement I introduced last spring.”
The deal involves three phases, starting with a multi-sequence prisoner exchange, partial withdrawal of Israeli troops, and a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza. A second phase would supposedly see the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the final release of remaining captives held by Hamas. The third phase would involve the initiation of a reconstruction plan for Gaza. There has been no agreement yet on Gaza’s administration post-ceasefire.
Biden tried Wednesday to cement the ceasefire as part of his own presidential legacy and to take the spotlight from Donald Trump, who claimed credit for the deal.
Palestine solidarity activists, however, argued that a deal could have been achieved much earlier if not for the Biden administration’s continued supply of arms—nearly $18 billion in 2024 alone—which allowed the killing to drag on for so long.
A statement from the Uncommitted National Movement said the administration failed “to exert meaningful pressure at critical moments when decisive action could have saved countless lives.”
The group also raised alarm about reports that the Netanyahu government may have struck a bargain with the incoming Trump administration. The Uncommitted National Movement alleged that the incoming president promised to support “settlement expansion, the curtailment of humanitarian aid, and an eventual return to Gaza military operations” in exchange for “boosting Trump’s image ahead of his inauguration.”
A number of events substantiate the claim. Israeli media coverage of the ceasefire has focused on the supposedly essential role played by Trump envoy Steve Witkoff in winning an agreement, while Trump’s incoming National Security Advisor Mike Walz publicly pledged Wednesday that “if the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] is required to enter Gaza again, we are with them.”
Mike Casey, a former U.S. State Department official who resigned in protest of Biden’s support for Israel’s war, made the same argument in an interview with Al Jazeera late Wednesday. He said his analysis led him to conclude that Israel’s decision to suddenly agree to a ceasefire now may have been timed as a “gift to Trump.”
He said Netanyahu hadn’t bothered putting effort into any “real negotiations” with the Biden administration because he knew the U.S. side would give in to whatever Israel wanted.
Waiting for a possible Trump victory and the more zealous support for Israel that it might bring, the Israeli prime minister appears to have taken advantage of Biden’s unwillingness to impose an arms embargo. His military used the interim period to destroy as much of Gaza as possible and achieve other military aims against Lebanon, Syria, and Iran.
Peace forces in Palestine and Israel react
Peace forces around the world welcomed the news of a ceasefire but warned of the need to be vigilant about a resumption of hostilities by Israel and urged a flood of humanitarian and reconstruction aid for Gaza.
The Palestinian People’s Party signaled support for the agreement, expressing hope that it will put an end to the “ongoing daily killing and genocide against our people.”
In a statement received by People’s World late Wednesday, the PPP said this moment requires the unity of all the various forces and factions in Palestinian society to ensure the agreement is actually implemented and to prevent Israel’s “evasion” and block its “persistence in aborting the aspirations of our people.”
It said that unifying Palestinians within the framework of the Palestine Liberation Organization is essential to resist Israel’s still-existing plans for “colonial displacement…and annexation.” The fight to bring war criminals to justice is also just beginning, the PPP declared, along with the struggle to guarantee Palestinian refugees’ right to return and the establishment of a single Palestinian government.
Inside Israel, those opposing the Netanyahu government said the ceasefire agreement brings relief but is insufficient.
“We welcome the [prisoner] exchange agreement and ceasefire,” said a joint statement sent to People’s World by the Communist Party of Israel and the Hadash coalition (Democratic Front for Peace and Equality), “despite the deadly stalling that characterizes the right-wing government in Israel.”
Since immediately after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas that triggered the current war, the CPI and Hadash said they have called for a deal that would “bring everyone home—prisoners, abductees, detainees, and hostages, Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
Israel’s Communists said that the current agreement must be followed with “serious negotiations that lead to the end of the occupation and the siege.” Achieving lasting peace depends, according to the CPI and Hadash, on “recognizing the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the establishment of their independent state alongside the State of Israel.”
Indicting U.S. imperialism’s role
In the United States, the Communist Party USA greeted the possibility of a ceasefire while taking aim at Washington’s support for the war and genocide against Gaza. “Israel’s belligerent actions could not have taken place without the unwavering support, substantial funding, and continuous backing of U.S. imperialism,” the party said in a statement released Thursday morning.
Like others, the CPUSA, too, pointed out that a ceasefire could have been achieved long ago, “but the Biden administration continued to provide political cover as well as billions of dollars in military support for the criminal Netanyahu regime, as well as vetoing multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions” aimed at achieving peace.
The profits of weapons contractors, along with the oil and gas industry, were pinpointed as key drivers of U.S. foreign policy in the region by the CPUSA, which also warned of the danger of stepped-up Israeli aggression once Trump takes charge again.
The CPUSA said its members will work to “build and mobilize the progressive and democratic forces to hold our government accountable for its part in the bloodshed” and for violating U.S. laws that prohibit funding foreign militaries committing human rights violations.
U.S. Communists promised to push for a “people’s foreign policy” that would “cut military budgets, transition to renewable energy, and move away from a war economy.”
With barely a building left standing in Gaza, at least 46,788 Palestinians dead (an undercount), and no indication that Israel’s illegal U.S.-backed occupation of Palestinian territories will end anytime soon, the ceasefire—if it is achieved—will be only the first step in the ongoing struggle for justice and Palestinian statehood.
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