President Donald Trump, seated on Monday alongside Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Sisi, Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan, at a long table behind huge white letters reading “PEACE 2025,” signed a ceasefire agreement, dubbed the Trump Peace Agreement, to halt the war in Gaza.
“We understand that lasting peace will be one in which both Palestinians and Israelis can prosper with their fundamental human rights protected, their security guaranteed, and their dignity upheld,” says the agreement, published to the White House’s website.
“We are united in our determination to dismantle extremism and radicalization in all its forms. No society can flourish when violence and racism is normalized, or when radical ideologies threaten the fabric of civil life.”
Many were astonished to watch President Trump, who is generally known more for his politics of division, sign the deal; perhaps more so to hear him claim that “this took 3,000 years to get to this point.”
Earlier this week, Hamas returned all its living hostages to Israel and began returning the remains of the deceased. Israel released 1,700 Gazans who were detained after Oct. 7, 2023, and 250 “life sentence” prisoners.
The ceasefire is a huge achievement, for which Mr. Trump won praise from all quarters (even his nemeses, the late-night comedians). Perhaps, however, it will be most shocking if it holds.
Leon Morris, who was rabbi at Temple Adas Israel in Sag Harbor from 1999 until 2014, when he moved to Jerusalem, said in a text, “I think in part it depends on whether the U.S. administration continues to be leading the process. If Trump loses interest, and if momentum wanes, it will threaten the sustainability of the process.” (Were that to happen, the signing of the ceasefire could turn out to be Mr. Trump’s “Mission Accomplished” moment.)
“It’s an incredible moment here, of course,” Mr. Morris continued, writing from Israel, “mixed with all the emotions of the enormous losses for us, and of course for the innocent Palestinians in Gaza.”
“We’re trying to make sense out of the heroic actions of a president who is destroying the United States of America while being the greatest friend of Israel we’ve ever had in the White House.”
Cognitive dissonance aside, local religious leaders and politicians were happy to take the win, and the rare moment of unification, albeit with a touch of caution.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is battling the president on many fronts, offered praise.
“After two years of immense suffering and loss, the Israeli hostages have finally returned home. I join their families in celebrating this long-awaited homecoming and pray they find peace and comfort in the days ahead,” she wrote.
Rabbi Josh Franklin of the Jewish Center of the Hamptons put the ceasefire in a religious context, writing in a text on Monday that “Jews around the world are celebrating the festival of Sukkot, the season of our joy. This year, that joy feels especially profound. After nearly two years of praying for the safe return of all those held hostage, the release of the remaining twenty living captives brings immense relief and gratitude to the Jewish people.”
“While our hearts still ache for those who were murdered in captivity, this moment calls us to focus on joy — not only the joy of reunion and freedom, but also the hope found in the cessation of fighting between Israel and Hamas,” he continued. “The loss of life, both in Israel and Gaza, has been devastating. We now pray that this ceasefire marks the beginning of a time to rebuild, to heal, and to move forward in peace.”
(In a separate letter, Mr. Franklin has announced that he will be leaving the Jewish Center of the Hamptons in May.)
East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez issued a family-forward statement: “My heart breaks for the innocent lives lost and for the families who have endured so much suffering,” she wrote. “As a mother and a person of faith, I am grateful that families are being reunited and pray that this ceasefire brings relief and hope. Every child, every parent, every person deserves to live in peace.”
Despite the ceasefire, both the pro-Israel protesters and the Palestinian-supporting group East End for Peace & Justice said they will continue meeting on Sunday afternoons at the windmill in Sag Harbor. A statement from East End for Peace & Justice read, “As Palestinian families return home to rubble and incalculable loss, as ethnic cleansing, forced starvation and occupation continue, we commit to remaining steadfast in our solidarity with Palestinian sovereignty and self-determination.”
“We welcome the ceasefire and stand in solidarity with Palestinian people, whose resilience is astounding and a lesson for all of humanity,” it continued. “We recognize that the U.S/Israeli plan does not address Palestinian needs, nor does it call for justice, sovereignty, or self-determination for Palestinian people. As stated by Health Workers for Palestine in their Gaza Health Solidarity Declaration: ‘Rebuilding and recovery must center Palestinian sovereignty and agency.’”
On the other side of the street, David Saxe, an attorney, retired judge, and the co-founder of East End Jews for Israel, texted that the protests would not stop, but would transform.
“I think that the pro-Israel protests will take on an added dimension, as we will assert the importance for Hamas to be disarmed and to renounce its governing authority over Gaza,” he wrote.
“The hostage release provides some room for optimism, but until Hamas is eliminated, Israel must keep a watchful eye on Gaza,” he continued. “There will be international pressure on Israel to relent on its insistence that Hamas be destroyed, but our voices must be raised to support whatever determination is in Israel’s best interest.”
The White House posted all 20 points of “President Donald J. Trump’s Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict” to X. The first reads, “Gaza will be a deradicalized terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors.” The second: “Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who have suffered more than enough.”
As one reads down the list, however, it’s clear there will be hurdles. “Once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty,” is the sixth point. “Gaza will be governed under the temporary transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for delivering the day-to-day running of public services and municipalities for the people in Gaza,” is the ninth.
Time will tell if these and other thornier parts of the agreement are achievable.
Then, of course, there was Trump’s assertion last winter that he would turn Gaza into “the Riviera of the Middle East.” That too is there in the plan, Point 10, in less confounding language: “A Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energize Gaza will be created by convening a panel of experts who have helped some of the thriving modern miracle cities in the Middle East.”
It is difficult to say when the war between Israel and the Palestinians really began, but this latest flare-up started on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas infiltrated Israel from Gaza, killing roughly 1,200 innocent Israelis and taking hostage, another 251. Israel responded in force, taking prisoners of its own, while more than 67,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, perished.
