Friday morning, Israel and Hamas entered a cease-fire, ending a violent 11-day war between Israel and Palestine. Over the weekend, the cease-fire held as discussions between officials continued, reported The Associated Press. Tensions remain high but recovery has begun in airstrike-devastated Gaza.
- The cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas is not yet a truce or a resolution, reported Al Jazeera.
Continued tensions at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Sheikh Jarrah evictions
Tensions in Jerusalem remain unresolved and ongoing around key flashpoints that led to the most recent Gaza war. Hamas officials said the cease-fire agreement included a halt to aggressive policies in Jerusalem, but Israeli officials have denied this, the Deseret News reported.
- Heavy Israeli policing of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, continued hours after the cease-fire Friday and into this weekend, said Al Jazeera.
- Israeli police assaulted Palestinian worshippers Sunday morning, allowing dozens of Jewish settlers to occupy the mosque compound, reported Al Jazeera.
The final judgment on the evictions of Palestinian families in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood was postponed during hostilities. The case has not been dropped and a court ruling will eventually come, potentially testing the current cease-fire, BBC reported.
International officials push for truce
The current cease-fire agreement is simply a pause on fighting, said BBC.
International officials, particularly Egyptian mediators, have begun pushing for discussion of a longer-term truce and a restart to the Middle East peace process, according to Al Jazeera.
- According to NBC News, the U.S. remains committed to a two-state solution, meaning the promotion of separate states for Israelis and Palestinians.
- Internationally, the two-state approach is viewed as the only solution to the cycle of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, the AP reported.
The challenge of negotiating a two-state solution stems from debates over who will lead the Palestinian government, reported the AP. Most Palestinians consider Hamas the official government of Palestine. However, most external negotiators, including the U.S. and Israel, consider the Palestinian Authority the official government of Palestine, said the AP.
- The Palestinian Authority — which most Palestinians consider illegitimate — has no presence in Gaza but occupies the West Bank, reported the AP.
Slow recovery efforts in Gaza
The UN. .has announced it will launch an appeal to provide humanitarian aid to the devastated and impoverished region of Gaza, Al Jazeera reported.
- Trucks carrying medicine, food and fuel entered Gaza Friday.
- Saturday, aid efforts distributed tents and mattresses to Palestinians left homeless from the recent fighting.
Gaza City’s main port reopened Saturday to allow fishermen to begin fishing again, reported The Washington Post. During the conflict, Israeli security forces kept fishermen from sailing but, beginning Saturday, a limited number of fisherman resumed work.
- The port reopening raises hopes that the current cease-fire will hold, said The Washington Post.
Volunteers and municipal workers have begun efforts to clear rubble from the streets of Gaza City. Palestinian officials, via Al Jazeera, estimate that reconstruction will cost tens of millions of dollars.
- According to The Washington Post, 243 Palestinians were killed by Israeli airstrikes.