Three weeks ago, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa submitted his resignation amid a corruption scandal, ushering in what is probably the biggest crisis in Portuguese politics in at least 20 years. The snap elections called for March promise to be the most contested and important ballot in that same period.
The Solomon Islands has become the focus of a fierce geopolitical rivalry between the allies of the U.S. on one hand, and China on the other, after announcing an extensive security pact with Beijing a year and a half ago. But some are concerned that great power competition is overshadowing national development priorities.
Today at WPR, we’re covering Xi Jinping’s vision for Chinese-style modernization and the connection between climate financing and peacebuilding.
But first, here’s our take on today’s top story.
War in Gaza: Israel and Hamas agreed to extend their truce for at least two more days, through Wednesday, with another two planned exchanges of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel for hostages held by the militant group. Israel has vowed to resume its war on Hamas with “full force” once it is clear no more hostages will be released under the deal. (AP)
Our Take: We wrote last week when Israel and Hamas agreed to this deal that it was a significant, encouraging sign. The fact that the two sides both respected the truce—even overcoming some wrinkles to do so—and then agreed to extend it is even more so.
The question now is: What happens after the truce ends? The signs there are less encouraging, because both sides have clearly expressed their intention to return to full-scale war after the pause in fighting is over, and each continue to maintain that their long-term goal is to destroy the other.
Nevertheless, truces tend to have sticking power, in this case because the pressures that led both Israel and Hamas to bring the fighting to a temporary halt have not diminished. If anything, the truce has fueled them.
For Israel, it will be difficult to simply flip a switch to jumpstart the momentum that the full-scale military operation had before the truce, if only for reasons of military logistics. PM Benjamin Netanyahu also now faces increased political pressure, both from the families of hostages who are still being held captive and from the Biden administration, which has told Israel to avoid more mass casualties of Palestinians in Gaza when its offensive there resumes.
