Israel and Hamas together in Sharm el-Sheikh is a fact. Probably too late, one might say. But at least (better late than never), the guns are silent, we can timidly think about the future, offering the affected populations a glimmer of hope. Credit goes to Donald Trump, it must be said. But also to the spontaneous demonstrations of people who literally poured into the streets not only in Italy, but also in Berlin, Paris, Istanbul, Buenos Aires, Nairobi, Dakar, and so on. Their emotional drive and participation contributed to exerting the necessary pressure on governments, carving out a key role for themselves in pursuing this outcome.

Something seems to have changed in public opinion, and all governments, including the Italian one, should acknowledge this by eschewing the typical frameworks of political opposition in the strict sense. This is also because, at the argumentative level, by pursuing that narrative of opposition between Giorgia Meloni's right and Elly Shlein and Giuseppe Conte's left, beyond the episodes of violence that must be condemned without any ifs or buts, the government majority would run the risk of indirectly implying that the opposition parties have begun to gain the necessary consensus to offer useful alternatives to the country. Instead, the discussion should now focus on the content of the agreement that will guarantee the desired and sought-after outcome of the ceasefire. Will it be effective? Will it be lasting? Questions abound, and likely no answers can even be tentatively outlined that are sufficiently certain.

Focusing on the agreement's contents, they should initially unfold as follows: 1) Hamas will return the hostages today, and in exchange, the Israelis will release approximately a thousand Palestinian prisoners; 2) the Israeli army will begin withdrawal operations from the Strip; 3) Hamas will be required to completely disarm; 4) work will be done toward the formation of a so-called "technocratic" government led by a team coordinated by Donald Trump himself with the support of Tony Blair; 5) security will be guaranteed by the United States, but will be operationally managed by an Arab-international force; 6) formal elections will be held, with subsequent Palestinian management of the territory, when the time is ripe—that is, in a future uncertain in terms of whether, when, and how.

There is likely a widespread awareness of the delicate nature of the operations to be implemented, which, in their graphic form, appear readily feasible, but which could encounter numerous critical issues precisely when they are implemented. This is especially true when the obstacle to be overcome is none other than the hypothesis of the future establishment (or at least this is the hope) of a Palestinian state, which Benjamin Netanyahu has consistently opposed. And even more so when the Palestinian state must emerge as a truly autonomous and independent entity if the conflict between the two populations, the Israeli and the Palestinian, is to be truly contained once and for all. The undertaking may be arduous, but it is worth the effort to achieve the result.

Donald Trump, in claiming that the "war in Gaza is over" and that the "ceasefire will hold," appears to be taking on the burdensome role of guarantor of the stability of the agreements and their success, also given the fact that the active support of Turkey and Qatar was crucial in bringing Hamas to the negotiating table. Ultimately, whether it truly is a definitive peace, only time will tell. One question arises above all: can Donald Trump, at this stage, replicate the result in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict? Put another way, can the Middle Eastern method of so-called internationalization of the conflict also be used in the Ukrainian context to push Vladimir Putin to a ceasefire? Which international player should be involved? The answer is likely a direct consequence and could not fail to point to the direct involvement of Xi Jinping's China, which may not share the same objectives as the President of the United States of America.

Giuseppina Di Salvatore – Lawyer, Nuoro

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