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President Trump’s meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago signaled that the administration is treating the fragile Gaza ceasefire as a testing ground for a larger security architecture in the region. The conversation reportedly covered the next phase of the ceasefire, the creation of a transitional Palestinian authority and the stubborn threats posed by Iran and Hezbollah — matters that demand clarity, not wishful thinking.
Retired Gen. Jack Keane warned on the air that the real challenge comes after the initial cessation of hostilities, when the hard bargaining begins over disarmament and governance in Gaza. Phase two, he said, is the “tough part” because Israel cannot be expected to withdraw while Hamas still operates as the governing force, and that mismatch is where ceasefires often collapse.
Those sober assessments should be a wake-up call to anyone still clinging to naive notions of quick fixes: maximum pressure and uncompromising guarantees for Israel’s security are prerequisites for any lasting arrangement. Intelligence-sharing, demonstration of credible deterrence against Iranian missile activity, and a serious plan to neutralize Hezbollah in Lebanon are non-negotiables if the ceasefire is to evolve into a durable peace.
On the Europe front, hopes for a Ukraine-Russia peace remain contingent on real concessions from Moscow, not press releases or photo ops, and Keane has been blunt that Putin has shown little willingness to give ground. Any U.S.-brokered deal must provide Ukraine leverage and security guarantees that are enforceable, or else we risk trading short-term headlines for long-term instability.
Conservative policymakers should welcome tough diplomacy rather than cower from it: backing Israel unequivocally while forcing Iran and Hezbollah to pay a price for destabilizing behavior is both morally right and strategically smart. At the same time, America should use its influence to ensure Ukraine negotiates from strength, not desperation, because a peace imposed by weakness will only invite fresh aggression.
