If this ceasefire is to grow into peace, then we in this country have to ensure that we keep pressure up

The words the Prime Minister had longed to say in the Commons last week. The relief he described was almost palpable amongst those of us gathered to hear his update, but nothing compared to that of families reunited in Israel who thought they would never see each other again. Or the children in Gaza who can now enjoy a night’s sleep without the terror that comes with the sound of weapons echoing in the darkness.

With that relief of course comes hope, but we, and the Middle East, have been here before, too often, only to see the promise of peace disintegrate.

Aid must be our first priority, and the UK has already committed to £20 million pounds of additional humanitarian support for food supplies, medicines and sanitation.

But we must go further if the ceasefire is to become peace. Thirty years ago next month, the progress of the Oslo agreements was destroyed by the assassination of Yitzak Rabin who, together with Yasser Arafat, had brought the two sides closer than even before, or perhaps since.

This time we must not allow the almost showbusiness bombast of the current American President to blind us to the work that still must be done. The US, Egypt, Qatar, the European Union and the United Kingdom have all played a part in reaching this point and we can bring specific expertise to what comes next.

In his statement Keir Starmer referred to the lesson of achieving the Good Friday agreement that we can contribute.

That if Hamas is to have no part in the Palestinian state which must now be built there has to be a decommissioning process like the one which disarmed the paramilitaries in Northern Ireland.

Crucial to achieving that will also be the same sort of attention to detail and tireless commitment of individuals including then US President Bill Clinton to ending the cycle of pain which had blighted generations.

That is what Palestinians, Israelies and people across the Middle East now need from this generation of leaders. So many lives have been lost, so much pain endured since that moment on the White House lawn in 1993 when a historic handshake between Yitzak Rabin and Yasser Arafat promised so much.

Two men who had experienced war and loss sought reconciliation for their peoples. Ultimately that effort ended in failure and rather than progress since that time it seems that relationships have deteriorated even further.

If this ceasefire is to grow into peace, and we are ever to fulfil the promise of that time and the vision presented by Rabin and Arafat, then we in this country have to ensure that we keep pressure not just on Hamas and Netanyahu but also Trump.

Announcing the deal, Benjamin Netanyahu, with his liking for Biblical quotes, turned to the book of Ecclesiastes when it tells us for every season there is a time… a time for peace and a time for war.

The BBC’s Jeremy Bowen pointed out that it is the same book that Yitzak Rabin quoted in 1993. Three decades on we have to work to ensure that this time, it is the time for peace.