Declaration of the Gaza Agreement and Ceasefire Begins Sunday: Palestinian Victory Celebrations and Israeli Disarray / The Resistance Imposes All Its Terms With Withdrawal and End of War and Netanyahu’s Government is Dying

 January 16, 2025

The political editor wrote

As expected, Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, announced the agreement to end the war on Gaza, with the ceasefire set to take effect on Sunday. This will conclude 470 days of war during which the resistance managed to rebuild its human and material resources in preparation for a prolonged battle. The 100-day war in northern Gaza, driven by the generals’ plan to displace its residents, served as a test of the occupying army’s capabilities and the resilience of the Palestinians and their resistance.

The results, which paved the way for the agreement, revealed the occupying forces’ losses of nearly 1,000 casualties, while half a million Palestinians remained steadfast in northern Gaza, even at the cost of martyrdom. The agreement guarantees the full withdrawal of occupying forces from Gaza and ends the war on terms set by the resistance.

In Gaza, the West Bank, and refugee camps abroad, celebrations erupted, particularly in Gaza, where joy over the agreement turned into a grand national festival. Meanwhile, the occupying entity sank into disarray, with prisoner families anxious about the potential derailment of the agreement’s implementation. The government fractured further as Itamar Ben Gvir threatened to leave the coalition, prompting Netanyahu to threaten his removal. This turmoil could escalate into a full-blown political crisis.

In Lebanon, Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam began his parliamentary consultations under the shadow of a boycott by the Development and Liberation Bloc and the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc. The duo viewed the way in which Salam was appointed the prime-ministership as a trick designed to collapse the agreement under which they had supported the election of the president during the second round.

The agreement reached between the duo and Saudi delegates, and agreed upon by Washington and Paris, was consolidated by placing it in the custody of the Presidency for which prime minister Najib Mikati was named – a provision within the agreement – for ensuring the implementation of the agreement’s remaining provisions.

The sudden change in the designated prime minister – had it not been an attempt to undermine the duo and impose illusions of victory over them – could have been reached through consensus with them. This move would have been easily traversed by informing the duo of the change and providing assurances that the remaining terms of the agreement were intact. Instead, the manner of Salam’s nomination was designed to project the duo’s weakness.

Now that what is done is done, the government’s formation process hangs on restoring the agreement. International actors are aware of the situation, understand what must be done to rectify it, and know with whom they need to negotiate. The first dialogue session between Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam is set for Friday, signaling a mutual willingness to be candid and address the emerging crisis and explore pathways to resolve it.