Palestinian govt urges peace partners to implement Israel-Hamas ceasefire

Amid recent violations of the Gaza truce and settler violence in the West Bank, the Palestinian government said that it continues to coordinate with Arab and international peace partners to advance Gaza’s recovery plan. And US officials are pressing both Palestinian group Hamas and Israel to observe and extend the truce.

During an Oct 21 cabinet meeting, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa affirmed that the government continues its intensive coordination and consultation with Arab and international partners in implementing the Gaza Recovery and Reconstruction Plan ahead of a donors’ conference to be held in Egypt in November, Wafa News Agency reported.

He also called for effective international action to curb the ongoing attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians across the West Bank.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Israeli settlers have carried out 71 attacks against Palestinians across the West Bank between Oct 7 and Oct 13.

Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said on Oct 21 that settler violence “has skyrocketed in scale and frequency with the acquiescence, support, and in many cases participation, of Israeli security forces — and always with impunity”.

Meanwhile, US Vice-President JD Vance met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Oct 22 for an expanded meeting about phase two of the ceasefire deal proposed by US President Donald Trump and backed by major Arab and Muslim countries.

Vance said the Gaza deal could potentially help expand a series of Arab-Israeli normalization deals Washington brokered under Trump’s first term. He again claimed that the ceasefire was “going better than expected” despite repeated violations.

“That’s in the US’ best interest. I happen to think it’s in Israel’s best interest too,” he said.

Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic adviser to the United Arab Emirates’ president, said on Oct 22 that much work remains to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, which he said will scale up.

He warned against “maximalist views” held by the Israeli right, saying any annexation of Palestinian territories would be a “red line”.

However, uncertainty remains over the peace plan, including the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of an international security force in Gaza, and the determination of who will govern the territory.

Al Jazeera reported that the people of Gaza said they have seen no real change since the ceasefire, as Israel continues with its sporadic attacks and keeps blocking aid.

Abeer Etefa, senior regional communications officer and spokesperson for the World Food Programme, said that the agency has delivered over 6,700 metric tons of food in two weeks since the ceasefire began, but it remained well below their target of 2,000 tons a day.

Experts have warned that the credibility of the US is on the line as Israel appears to test the limits of the ceasefire.

Rasha Al Joundy, a senior researcher at the Dubai Public Policy Research Centre, told China Daily that the ceasefire is in “a very critical period” and breaches are usually to be expected at this point after conflicts.

Mehmet Rakipoglu, a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom and an assistant professor of political science and international relations at Mardin Artuklu University in Turkiye, told China Daily that “it is nothing new for Israel” to violent the ceasefire.

Contact the writers at jan@chinadailyapac.com