India, Oct. 15 -- On Monday, Hamas released 20 Israeli hostages and some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners were freed by Israel, marking the beginning of the first phase of US President Donald Trump's 20-point West Asia peace plan. Trump, who visited Israel and Egypt to witness the fruits of his peace deal, announced at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, "the historic dawn of a new Middle East". Later, in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt, Trump, with a large number of presidents, prime ministers, and emirs in attendance, signed the Gaza Declaration. Hyperbole aside, it was Trump's moment in the sun, where he revelled in his role as a peace-broker and deal-maker, even suggesting to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu (at the Knesset) that he was willing to negotiate between the Jewish State and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Few grudged Trump's grandstanding, for most people were relieved that he got Netanyahu to end the two-year war that led to over 67,000 Palestinian deaths and reduced Gaza to rubble. The ceasefire may have been a low-hanging fruit, considering that a durable peace in Gaza, and thereby in West Asia, revolves around the challenge of managing and rebuilding Gaza, and the making of a Palestinian State. The Trump plan talked about the disarmament of Hamas and its removal from governance in Gaza. Hamas ignored this demand, and its cadres have reportedly reappeared in Gaza to police civilians. The Fatah, entrenched in the West Bank, lacks public support or the machinery to pull its weight over Hamas in Gaza. An international stabilisation force has been mooted, but there is neither clarity nor a consensus on who would provide the personnel or the necessary funds. Stabilisation of Gaza's cities and towns - restoration of the supply and distribution of aid and essentials, for instance - will have to precede its rebuilding. The war was a testament to the marginalisation of the United Nations; the global body can, perhaps, at least help in keeping peace. The case of establishing a Palestinian State is even more complicated since the Netanyahu administration has been categorical in its rejection of the idea. Important West Asian nations such as Saudi Arabia, which welcomed Trump's peace plan, have been cautious about celebrating the ceasefire as a breakthrough for the region. The unravelling of the Abraham Accords, a major achievement of Trump's first term, which promised the normalisation of relations between Israel and several Sunni Arab States, suggests how ephemeral the spectre of peace in West Asia can be, given the intransigence of Israel towards a Palestinian State and the absence of trust among neighbours in West Asia. Building peace in the desolation that Gaza is today is a perilous task....