The Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal is Trumpism’s biggest triumph.
President Donald Trump is likely to see it as validation of his contempt for orthodox establishment peacemaking, traditional foreign policy dogmas and presidential caution. It’s a win for unpredictability, supping with tyrants and using real estate moguls as negotiators to chase the art of the deal.
Trump spent Monday glowing from the kind of universal adulation in Israel that he never receives stateside. He also appeared in Egypt with world leaders, many of whom reject his “America First” populism but still dropped everything to rush to his side.
The most unqualified global success of Trump’s two presidencies raises many possibilities, including the unlikely prospect that the unusual sensation of being loved abroad might prompt him to seek affirmation at home by tempering his vitriolic leadership style.
And it raises many questions, too:
► Can the deal, which saw 20 Israeli hostages return home alive, become more than a snatched moment of hope in the Middle East’s tortured history? Does it really mean “the war in Gaza is over”? Or is that typical Trump hyperbole?
► To that end, will vital issues that Trump left unaddressed on Monday — most notably the massive omission of offering Palestinians a true say in their own future — derail his big win? Trump is far from the first American statesman to herald the “historic dawn of a new Middle East.” But the failure to end the Palestinian question has produced endless false dawns.
► The answer to the above question may depend on this one: Will Trump stay engaged when the big-splash declaration of the initial deal has passed? His 20-point peace deal calls for an international peace force for Gaza; for Hamas to give up its weapons and its grip on Gaza; and for a global coalition of Arab st
Continue Reading on CNN
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.