The Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, without Hamas being disarmed or an international force in place, creates a space for violent clashes. Hamas, armed gangs, and powerful clans are already competing for control, illustrating a critical risk in phased peace plans where security is not transferred seamlessly.

Despite a comprehensive Egyptian-led rebuilding plan, wealthy Gulf monarchies refuse to provide the necessary $55 billion. They will not invest funds that could be destroyed in a future conflict, making Hamas's disarmament a non-negotiable prerequisite for any major rebuilding effort to begin.

Fayyad argues that to achieve national consensus, Hamas must be brought into the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)—the umbrella body for all Palestinians—rather than just the Palestinian Authority (PA), a product of the Oslo Accords. This structural change is key to forming a legitimate, non-factional government.

Israeli PM Netanyahu's acceptance of the peace plan is a study in contradiction. While publicly endorsing the deal, he immediately rejected a key component: a role for the Palestinian Authority in post-war Gaza. This tactic creates 'wiggle room' and signals a lack of genuine buy-in, challenging the deal's future.

Salam Fayyad contends the Palestinian Authority is not simply in need of technocratic reforms; its political structure is fundamentally flawed. Even if managed as efficiently as Finland, it would still lack the national consensus required to govern effectively because it doesn't represent all Palestinian factions.

The viability of a two-state solution depends entirely on the nature of the new Palestinian government. A state cannot achieve stability if it is run by a terrorist organization like Hamas. The international community's push for statehood is meaningless without addressing the internal governance that perpetuates violence.

Former PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad argues the focus on political conditions like Hamas's disarmament has overshadowed the immediate, catastrophic need to improve the livelihoods of people in Gaza, who lack shelter, food, and water. This prioritization of politics over people is the key failure post-ceasefire.

Regimes like Iran and groups like Hamas define self-destruction as a form of victory. To achieve traditional political goals against such an ideology, democracies must be prepared to use an overwhelming and morally challenging level of force, mirroring the use of atomic bombs against Imperial Japan.

The 20-point plan calls for an international force to disarm Hamas. However, a negotiator revealed that no country has actually committed troops to this force. This critical gap in implementation threatens the entire long-term viability of the deal, as it is unclear who would enforce disarmament.