Gaza Peace Plan and the Challenge of Disarmament
Think Hamas will lay down arms easily? Look how long it took the IRA.
The Gaza peace plan's most likely stumbling stone is shaping up to be disarmament, similar to the experience in Northern Ireland.
According to Jamie Dettmer, opinion editor and foreign affairs columnist at POLITICO Europe, President Donald Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan has echoes of the Good Friday Agreement, which was signed in 1998 and ended three decades of sectarian strife in Northern Ireland.
Several phrases appeared to be “lifted from the Good Friday Agreement — or at least inspired by it,”
said David Mitchell, a Trinity College professor of reconciliation and peace studies, noting the similarities between the two agreements, particularly those about a “process of demilitarization,” the “decommissioning” of weapons and “placing weapons permanently beyond use.
Author's summary: Gaza peace plan faces disarmament challenges.
- The Gaza peace plan has similarities with the Good Friday Agreement.
- Disarmament is a major challenge in the Gaza peace plan.
- The Good Friday Agreement ended three decades of sectarian strife in Northern Ireland.