Criticism has been widespread about India not sending a higher level representative to the peace accord finalised in Sharm-el-Sheikh between Hamas and Israel, principally. On the dais, the Tricolour was placed in the penultimate position, while the MoS (MEA) had to sit among the audience rather than appear on stage. Given the importance given by Egypt to the conference, and the fact that the invite to attend was sent to the Prime Minister by President Al-Sisi and President Trump, observers could have read a snub in not even EAM Jaishankar attending. Optics aside, however, the decision may have been a wise one. President Trump may have used the occasion to seek to arrange a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Prime Minister Modi to bolster his claim that he was responsible for the recent outbreak of kinetic hostilities between India and Pakistan coming to what many in India thought was a premature close. Shehbaz Sharif was expectedly fulsome in giving credit to President Trump for the cessation of hostilities that erupted as a consequence of the Pahalgam terror attack. Another reason which would validate the low key representation of India at the summit is that the Gaza accord is not the herald of peace but simply a pause between hostilities. The conditions set by the Trump peace plan are in practice impossible to fulfil. Firstly, there is no doubt that Hamas would refuse to disarm and hand over control of Gaza to the very Palestinian authority whose officials in Gaza were so brutally treated by the terror group during 2005-07, with several being jailed or even executed. Neither has Hamas given any indication that it is willing to walk away from its explicit denial of the correctness of the existence of the State of Israel. It was clear that the ruling al-Thani family in Qatar forced Hamas to the negotiating table, just as President Trump leaned on Prime Minister Netanyahu to do the same. The Gaza accords do not represent peace between Israel and Hamas but only a pause that at least had the benefit of Hamas returning all twenty surviving hostages to Israel, again almost certainly due to pressure from the ruling dynasty of Qatar. Judging by the fact that the majority of those taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023 were killed, and the condition of the surviving hostages, it is obvious that even a delay of a few months in returning them would have caused the lives of several of those released. As for the PA regaining control of Gaza, far from complying, the aim of Hamas is to replace the PA throughout the West Bank as well. Neither will Hamas surrender its weapons as mentioned in the Trump peace plan, given that doing so would place it at the mercy of not just Israel but the many in Gaza who detest Hamas but have had to remain silent for fear of immediate retribution were they to make known their opposition to Hamas. Given the devastation and loss of life caused by ceaseless Israeli bombardment of Gaza, a majority of the population would have understood the penalties involved in being ruled by a terrorist group. There has been a call for the international community, principally in the Arab world, to invest in the rebuilding of Gaza. Given the shakiness of the truce between the two sides, such investment is as unlikely as Gaza turning into the Mediterranean riviera envisaged by some in the US eager to get as big a chunk as possible from the reconstruction budget. After the party will come the hangover, and it will not be a pleasant sight. For peace to dawn in Gaza, Hamas has to surrender its weapons and hand over control to the Palestinian Authority, conditions that are not just difficult to fulfil but impossible. Once Hamas refuses to disarm as demanded in the accord, and as a consequence once again hostilities erupt between the terror organisation and Israel, it will be seen that the decision to send a low key delegation to the Sharm-el-Sheikh conference was the correct one to take. Egypt merits a Prime Ministerial visit by India at the earliest opportunity, and so do the Gulf states. Both have been friends of India for long, and there will be plenty to discuss, some of which may not be made public for reasons of state. As for the US, once hostilities break out between Hamas and Israel, he will have to choose between obliging Qatar or following the traditional path of supporting Israel. It is to be hoped that he would make the correct choice.
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