Two months after the start of the war of October the 7th, after the first hostage deal, the activists of the organization ‘’Looking the Occupation in the Eye’’ started spreading shirts and signs proclaiming that ‘’Today. This is the Day After.’’ It’s been almost two years and again we are in the days that presume to be "after the war", wishing that this corrupt government shall not renew it once more.
Ten days after Trump released his 20-stage plan to end the war, Israel and Hamas agreed to sign the first of these stages. This plan, if followed, is supposed to bring to the release of the Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners and the retreat of the IDF to the yellow line (the first of three such lines). Additionally, in this first stage Israel will permit humanitarian aid to reach the area through the UN and other international institutes.
But Trump’s plan includes more than the end of the battle and the exchange of hostages. What he presented in Washington was a long term plan that will include the founding of a Palestinian governing body alongside Israel. But it wasn't a treaty signed by both sides, rather a general proposal with no detailed outline and no clear schedule.
This allowed Netanyahu to bow his head without directly contradicting his previous statements on the matter; especially his refusal to end the war until ‘’The Utter Victory’’. And as for Hamas, the organization’s agreement to the first stage was mainly due to political pressure from the negotiation's directors — Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey — that reached the conclusion that the continued holding of the hostages is halting the end of the war.
Assuming the simultaneous pressure on Israel and Hamas won’t cease, than will begin the ‘’second stage’’, the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip and the disarmament of Hamas, and the founding of an impermanent technocratic Palestinian government. This temporary body shall oversee the public services and governmental duties of the area. Furthermore, a second body named ‘’The Board of Peace’’ will be founded for international supervision, headed by Trump and former UK prime minister Tony Blair.
It’s important to state that this treaty is not dissimilar to the outline proposed by the Biden administration in November of 2023 — when the aforementioned ‘’This is the Day After’’ shirts were handed out. But then Nethanyu managed to crash that proposal.
Now Netanyahu agreed to a plan he’s been trying to delay for two years, only because he has no other options. Trump is not nearly as polite as Biden and the demented attack in Qatar gave the American government a major leverage against him. Alongside these, there is no way for us to ignore the international sanction placed on Israel due to the sightless destruction and civilian murder the IDF committed during the war.
Netanyahu, whose personal interests lie far above those of his country, will have a chance to sabotage this treaty as he did the last one. He doesn’t lack reasons: his mission to destroy the Hamas has not been fulfilled, it is unclear how Hamas will be disarmed of weaponry, the treaty guarantees the pardon of Hamas terrorists who will want to stay in Gaza and the safety of those who will wish to leave, and, most important of all, Trump’s plan contradicts Netanyahu’s vision on its most fundamental aspect; it will found an independent Palestinian government.
There’s no doubt that this is not the future that Netanyahu and Hamas desire. Trump’s outline seeks to provide a long-term solution and has been endorsed by more than 150 countries. And for that very reason — exactly because both of the sides are displeased by the agreement — it might stand a chance.
This agreement is being signed by two sides who for 30 years have been trying to sabotage the Oslo Accords. It is not by coincidence that Netanyahu and Hamas were almost allied in recent history.
This is why the public cannot allow itself to just wait around for the conclusion of the "first stage" like it did in the first months of the war. Back then, statements like ‘’this isn’t the time for politics’’ were running rampant. The belief was that, because Hamas committed acts of atrocity, it should be completely desecrated — and so festered and bubbled national desires of revenge. And through this exact desire the ‘’enlightened’’ public cleared the road for Netanyahu and his messianic gang.
Back then ‘’Brothers in Arms’’ and other democracy-inclined (for jews only) organizations ceased their struggle against the fascist government; under slogans like ‘’Yachad Nenatzeach’’ (together we will win). Meanwhile, their opponents in the right made sure to strengthen their hold in the government and, namely, the military, the police, the shin-bet, the judicial system, and the major public service departments. We cannot make this mistake again. Netanyahu, Levin, Ohana, and their allies are still on the mission to corrupt and destroy Israel’s democracy.
More than ever — even after both sides pretend to lower their weapons and the hostages are returned to their families — the public must defend the values of democracy. But we must remember that the desire to create a consensus only among the Jewish Israelis will fail the option for real change. Even if we reestablish a national inquiry committee; uproot the corruption seeded by the Likud; protect freedom of speech, and support the independence of the judicial system — all these will not suffice.
The return of the hostages needs to be the sign to rejoin the efforts to push back against fascism. But this time ‘’the other Israel'’ needs to accept that there is no democracy that can coexist with occupation. That the root of this conflict is the fact that there are two nations living in this land, both sharing an equal right to live and prosper within it. In the past, the Palestinians refused Israel’s right to exist in this land and brought upon themselves the blight of occupation and apartheid. And Israel, enchanted by its conquered West Bank regions, settled in them and antagonized the Palestinian authorities — these actions were an inseparable part of Hamas’s growth and the events of October 7th.
The fact that a major part of the United Nations (including the countries of the Arab and Muslim world) support Trump’s plans tells us that the world realized it is time to end the bloodied conflict that has plagued this region for so long. For that reason, we have to silence Netanyahu spokesmen that will try to claim that after the hostages return we can smash the Palestinians' attempt for an independent state and continue the war in Gaza.
It is facing Netanyahu’s vision of an Israel that controls the west bank, facing the apartheid, facing the long years of ignoring the settlers’ violence against the Palestinians, facing the ethnic cleansing the public that supports ‘’the other Israel’’ must recruit to the cause. We cannot be satisfied only with protecting democracy, we need to demand the completion of the stages of Trump’s plan that will create a Palestinian nation that could coexist with Israel in peace. Because today is the day after. Just like the mass protests for the release of the hostages persuaded Trump to lift the presidential axe on Nethanyahu’s manipulation, so will thousands of Israeli protesters going out on the street calling for the end of occupation shall make the president of the USA ensure his plans will come to fruition.
