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Former Palestinian foreign minister Nasser Al Qudwa has outlined details of a proposal for peace in Gaza that he drew up with former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert.
The plan is meant to act as a “vision” to overcome the main obstacles to a two-state solution, and contains suggestions previously discussed or agreed on by key players in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Mr Al Qudwa told The National.
It includes creating a demilitarised Palestinian state with only an internal policing system, a five-nation trusteeship of Old Jerusalem and an Arab peacekeeping force in Gaza after the war ends.
“We're not reinventing the wheel,” Mr Al Qudwa said.
Mr Olmert had first suggested coming up with a plan similar to one he presented to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in 2008, including the five-nation trusteeship of Old Jerusalem, Mr Al Qudwa said.
“These are talks for people in power. We never claimed to be in a position of authority. This plan is coming from a real place of wanting the bloodshed to end and of wanting a real solution to be reached,” he told The National.
In 2021, Mr Al Qudwa, the nephew of late Palestinian president Yasser Arafat, was expelled from the ruling Fatah party, led by Mr Abbas, over political differences. He later joined forces with prominent Palestinian politician Marwan Barghouti, now serving a life sentence in an Israeli prison, who planned to run against Mr Abbas in elections that fell apart.
Other elements of the proposal include Israel's annexation of 4.4 per cent of Palestinian land in exchange for a safe corridor that connects the occupied West Bank to Gaza.
“We didn’t specify what these areas are because we’re not in a position of power and this matter requires detailed negotiations. The exchange needs to be equal in value,” Mr Al Qudwa said.
Online conversations
Talks about a joint proposal began during an “online exchange of messages” after a conversation with Mr Olmert and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman two months ago, Mr Al Qudwa said.
Details, such as which states would be part of the trusteeship of Old Jerusalem and which Arab countries would be involved in peacekeeping in Gaza, would be ironed out later in “detailed discussions”.
The plan was initially supposed to be presented to key Arab states for their input before being made public, Mr Al Qudwa said. “But it was leaked by Palestinian parties seeking to undermine it,” he added.
Despite this, Mr Al Qudwa and Mr Olmert are working to gather public and state support for their plan. But several obstacles stand in the way – primarily Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who rejects a peace plan based on a two-state solution.
“There are no magical solutions. We agree that we're in a very bad place – especially our people in Gaza,” Mr Al Qudwa said.
In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Mr Olmert emphasised the need to move past the current conflict.
“This is the time for moving away from the bleeding of this terrible confrontation that we had into a direction that may offer a new horizon, and that's what we're trying to do,” he said.
In May, Hamas agreed to a US proposal to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, where nearly 41,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 94,000 injured since the war began in October last year.
The UN-approved plan includes Israel's complete withdrawal from Gaza in exchange for the release of the remaining hostages by Hamas – but Mr Netanyahu has insisted that Israeli troops remain in parts of Gaza, including the Rafah border crossing and Salah Al Din corridor, despite US opposition.
Mr Al Qudwa said Mr Netanyahu has a vested interest in preventing peace.
“Netanyahu knows exactly that the continuation of this war means that he continues to remain in power. Otherwise, if it stopped, he might go to jail,” he said, referring to corruption charges facing the Israeli Prime Minister.
“So this is a matter of life and death for him – and he’s in the position of higher power.”
Mr Olmert criticised Mr Netanyahu's leadership.
“The ultimate test of great leadership is the ability to do the opposite of what you've promised when the situation demands it,” he said.
“This is not what Netanyahu will do. He is not a great leader. He is not Churchill, not Roosevelt, and not even Chamberlain.”
Mr Al Qudwa said his role is not to ensure or guarantee the implementation of the peace proposal, but to advocate for it and do what he can to make it happen.
“We have a saying in Palestine: 'We don't wash the dead and guarantee their entry to heaven. We merely wash them.'”