What happens next for Palestinians? How will they organize themselves in the coming months, and who will govern them? On the latest episode of FP Live, I spoke with Diana Buttu, a former spokesperson for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and a lawyer who has lived in both Gaza and Israel. What follows here is a condensed and lightly edited transcript. Subscribers can watch the full discussion in the video box atop this page or follow the FP Live podcast.

One week into the start of a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel, important elements of the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan remain unfinished. Hamas has not been able to return the remains of all of the deceased Israeli hostages; aid into Gaza has increased from before, but the United Nations says its teams were unable to get inside on Monday and Tuesday; and it is still unclear whether Hamas will disarm or forswear involvement in the future of Gaza, two elements crucial for the deal to proceed to its second phase.

One week into the start of a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel, important elements of the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan remain unfinished. Hamas has not been able to return the remains of all of the deceased Israeli hostages; aid into Gaza has increased from before, but the United Nations says its teams were unable to get inside on Monday and Tuesday; and it is still unclear whether Hamas will disarm or forswear involvement in the future of Gaza, two elements crucial for the deal to proceed to its second phase.

What happens next for Palestinians? How will they organize themselves in the coming months, and who will govern them? On the latest episode of FP Live, I spoke with Diana Buttu, a former spokesperson for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and a lawyer who has lived in both Gaza and Israel. What follows here is a condensed and lightly edited transcript. Subscribers can watch the full discussion in the video box atop this page or follow the FP Live podcast.

Ravi Agrawal: I know you have many friends in Gaza. How are they feeling this week?

Diana Buttu: I have many, many friends in Gaza. Every one of them has had their home destroyed. Every one has had family members killed. Every one of them has lost a significant amount of weight. They’ve returned back to rubble. They’re still starving. There’s no fresh water. Nothing has changed for Gazans except that the bombs have stopped. And so I’m still very, very, very worried about them, especially since the entire health system has been destroyed. All aspects of life have been destroyed and the world is applauding this agreement, when they’ve ignored two years of genocide.

RA: You’ve sat at the negotiating table yourself. One week on, what do you make of the agreement?

DB: It’s important to step back. Over the past two years, every major human rights organization has said that this is genocide. The Association of Genocide Scholars labeled it genocide. The International Court of Justice, over a year and a half ago, said that there’s a plausible case for genocide. Even two Israeli human rights organizations have said that it is genocide.

This means all countries around the world should have come togethe