India, Oct. 15 -- The Sharm el-Sheikh summit on Monday represents a watershed in Middle East diplomacy, but its legacy is profoundly ambiguous. Co-chaired by the US and Egypt, the gathering of world leaders succeeded in brokering an end to a devastating two-year war in Gaza, securing a ceasefire, the release of all hostages and prisoners, and an unprecedented international commitment to reconstruction and oversight.

Yet, beneath the celebratory atmosphere lies a framework that is both a radical diplomatic innovation and a profoundly fragile construct. The summit did not forge a path to peace; instead, it transformed a hot conflict into a managed, yet fundamentally unresolved, political standoff. The architecture of this imposed peace was...