First, it is essential to revisit the failures of the 1993 Oslo Accords–failures now reemerging in strikingly similar form. As Quilliam notes, Oslo initially appeared to be a historic breakthrough that would enhance Israeli security while paving the way toward Palestinian statehood. The result was administrative fragmentation between the West Bank and Gaza, deepening political division and weakening Palestinian national cohesion rather than consolidating it. More profoundly, the plan risks institutionalizing the permanent separation of Gaza from the West Bank, particularly amid accelerated annexation rhetoric by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on February 8. Thus, separating Gaza from the West Bank is not viewed as a mere administrative adjustment but as a step that would effectively dismantle the two-state paradigm.
Source: Daily News Egypt February 24, 2026 15:37 UTC