From the Arab perspective, the value of the “Working Together to Achieve Peace in the Middle East” document co-authored by Palestinian Authority (PA) Foreign Minister Nasser Al-Qudwa and former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert resides in the fact that it reaffirms the principle of a two-state solution.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has openly and repeatedly renounced this internationally supported formula since launching the war on Gaza last October, even though it remains a frame of reference for any future settlement.
In this respect, the Palestinian cause has come to a major crossroads. The Netanyahu faction in Israel continuously asserts that the attack on Israel on 7 October was a consequence of the Oslo Accords in the 1990s, which that faction now rejects. It is currently mobilizing Israeli settlers behind preparations to put paid to the accords, and it will execute further plans once the war on Gaza ends.
This underscores the importance of the Al-Qudwa-Olmert document, because once the fighting in Gaza ends, a battle will erupt over frames of reference.
The Netanyahu faction in Israel has already given an indication of some of the contours of that battle. Netanyahu’s supporters have made it clear that they oppose the return of the PA to Gaza to replace Hamas as the administrator of the territory. This opposition is sweeping: it rejects a full return of the PA and a reversion to the pre-2007 situation, and it also rejects a partial return, such as PA involvement in arrangements for managing the borders and border crossings with Israel.
Meanwhile, Washington has proposed training a corps of PA security personnel to resume work on the Palestinian side of the Rafah Crossing and to man the Philadelphi Corridor and other security positions in Gaza.
The Israeli intransigence during the successive rounds of negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage/prisoner exchange deal stems in large measure from a desire to nullify the PA, the foremost symbol of the Oslo Accords. Israel fervently hopes to “invent” a Palestinian alternative to serve the purposes of its intended anti-Oslo coup. So far, no such invention is in sight.
The Al-Qudwa-Olmert document proceeds from US President Joe Biden’s internationally supported plan (UN Security Council Resolution 2735) for a ceasefire in Gaza and a hostage/prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas. In addition to reiterating the Biden proposals, it calls for the creation of a “Council of Commissioners” to govern Gaza after the Israeli withdrawal.
In calling for such a council, Olmert and Al-Qudwa have anticipated the Netanyahu faction’s intention to keep Gaza from being handed over to the PA, thereby reinstating the Oslo provisions. They have therefore attempted to circumvent Netanyahu’s obstructiveness by exploring middle ground that will simultaneously ensure that the PA, inclusive of the widely discussed changes that will be introduced to it, remains the Palestinian counterpart to the Israeli side in guaranteeing any future peace agreements.
To support this desired outcome, the document renews the focus on the need for a land corridor between Gaza and the West Bank. This is a crucial point as it helps to ensure the viability of other arrangements that merit attention and offers a realistic form for the demographic and geographical connections between the West Bank and Gaza. It also paves the way to the discussion of more complex matters in the same document.
The Al-Qudwa-Olmert document addresses so-called sensitive issues, most notably the status of Jerusalem. This was one of the reasons for the collapse of the Camp David talks in 2000.
According to the document, Israel would receive all of West Jerusalem and any Jewish neighborhoods built after 1967. These areas would be included in the 4.4 per cent of West Bank land that the document proposes would be annexed to Israel. The text goes on to state that “all Arab neighborhoods that were not part of the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem before 1967 will be part of Palestinian Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Palestine. The Old City will be administrated by a trusteeship of five countries, including Israel and Palestine.”
Some Israelis who have seen the proposal have remarked on how closely it resembles what Olmert proposed in September 2008. In addition to outlining the borders of a Palestinian state, the former Israeli prime minister also renounced sovereignty over the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. He also proposed that, under a peace agreement, the area containing religious sites in Jerusalem would be administrated by a special committee composed of representatives from five states, including Palestine, the US, and Israel.
The Al-Qudwa-Olmert document urges the speedy end to the war in Gaza. This, it states, entails reaching a ceasefire, securing the release of all Israeli hostages in Gaza and the agreed number of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons, and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. Then a Palestinian entity would be established to administer and rebuild the Gaza Strip. This entity would take “the form of a Council of Commissioners composed of professional technocrats and not of political representatives.”
“This council should be organically linked to the PA and, together, with the Council of Ministers, should prepare both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip for general elections within 24 to 36 months,” it says.
Al-Qudwa and Olmert also agree on the need to deploy what they term a “Temporary Arab Security Presence (TASP)” in tandem with the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. Its purpose would be to maintain stability in cooperation with the Palestinian security force, which would also be formed by the Council of Commissioners. The document adds that the TASP “will be mandated to prevent attacks against Israel from Gaza.”
Olmert and Al-Qudwa express the hope in the document that all the provisions of their proposal will be acceptable to the concerned Arab parties and receive their continued support to ensure success. They also call for a Donors Conference for the reconstruction of Gaza “with the serious participation of wealthy countries.”
While the title has been slightly modified, this article was originally published on Ahram Online on September 24, 2024, and a version of it appeared in print in the September 26 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.
