South Africa, after hearing the news that a ceasefire has been brokered, is calling for peace between both Israelis and Palestinians. It follows testimony from mediators that say that a ceasefire will come into effect on January 19, if approved. So far, the war has killed tens of thousands and caused great violence that the ICJ(International Court of Justice) views as possibly genocidal. South Africa affirmed that humanitarian aid should be delivered as soon as possible, and all obstacles to delivering it should be removed immediately. All civilians should be allowed prompt access to food, water, shelter, and healthcare. This ceasefire will prove to be a “crucial first step” to ending the months-long humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
South Africa has welcomed the ceasefire, along with many other countries. Due to Africa’s large Muslim and Christian population, it makes sense that most people would stand for Palestine in this war. However, personally I believe the ceasefire will not last. While it does have to in order for millions of civilians to be protected and cared for, this is only a temporary solution. Israel and Palestine(and the rest of the Middle East, really) have not had good relations since Israel’s founding. As a result, it would be a long, upward battle in order to get a lasting ceasefire. Israel has already enacted aggressive measures, even though the two states are meant to be working towards peace. Israel and Palestine would normally react to this by withdrawing troops, removing humanitarian aid obstacles, and stopping all firing. However, this is not the case, at least for Israel. Netanyahu has already caused damage to a building.
The fact is, geopolitics do not play as large a role in this as more human-centered reasons. While the weather and regional landscape do play a role in small battles throughout the conflict, the war as a whole is largely caused by the fact that Israel is religiously different from everyone else. Thus, Israel was the one who lashed out first, in order to prevent being surprised by any other country. Religious conflict is unfortunately difficult to solve due to its basis on faith and not anything concrete(save religious texts), so it will be complicated and messy to even attempt to solve the Israel problem now or in the future.