Middle East crisis Reactions to the ceasefire

Analysis: Can Netanyahu survive a permanent peace?

If the ceasefire in Gaza leads to a permanent end to the war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will face “his biggest battles,” writes The Telegraph’s Paul Nuki in an analysis.

Among other things, he must deal with legal challenges, given the arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

At the same time, he is trying to hold together a fragile government coalition with political allies on the right who want the war to resume after the hostages are released, writes Nuki.

But that would hinder the second and third phases of the ceasefire, when a permanent ceasefire is to be negotiated, and arouse the ire of US President-elect Donald Trump – who has invested a lot of political capital in ending the war.

Amos Harel writes in an analysis for Haaretz that Netanyahu is sending different messages to his allies at home and Donald Trump about what will happen after the six-week ceasefire.

“If Trump forces Netanyahu to move on to the second phase, it is unlikely that Netanyahu’s coalition will survive,” the analysis states.

Expert: The ceasefire will be marked by temporary crises

The six-week ceasefire was marked by a dramatic morning when it came into effect almost three hours after the scheduled time on Sunday. The delay was not surprising and the ceasefire will likely be marked by temporary crises, according to Anders Persson, an Israel-Palestine expert at Linnaeus University.

This is because Israel and Hamas disagree on several important points.

– They do not agree on who should govern Gaza, or the role of Hamas. There are a bunch of big elephants in the room that will be negotiated later, Persson tells TT.

At the same time, Middle East expert Alexander Atarodi emphasizes that the ceasefire does not mean permanent peace. But it provides better conditions for getting emergency aid into Gaza.

– There are parts of Gaza that have not received humanitarian aid for a very long time. The main thing is to get extensive support into northern Gaza, Atarodi tells SVT Nyheter.

“Now the people of Gaza can breathe a sigh of relief – at least temporarily”

It is an “incredibly long-awaited” ceasefire that now prevails in Gaza, says SVT’s Middle East correspondent Samir Abu Eid.

– Over two million have lived their worst nightmare in Gaza, he says in SVT’s live broadcast.

The ceasefire came into effect at 10.15 on Sunday. Sveriges Radio’s Middle East correspondent Cecilia Uddén says that the people of Gaza can now breathe a sigh of relief, at least temporarily.

– We don’t know how long this ceasefire will last. It's shaky and it's fragile, she tells Sveriges Radio Ekot.