RIYADH: For two years, the world has watched Gaza burn. Tens of thousands have been killed, and yet amid the rubble, talk of peace has returned in the form of a new US-led plan that promises not only reconstruction but perhaps even a renewed path toward Palestinian statehood.
The 20-point peace plan outlined by US President Donald Trump, endorsed by several Arab and Western governments and accepted at least in part by Israel and Hamas, outlines a roadmap for ending the conflict and reviving the moribund peace process.
But with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejecting the two-state solution outright — and Israeli strikes killing dozens in Gaza even after the plan’s announcement — many question whether the deal has any real chance of success.
Appearing on the Arab News current affairs program “Frankly Speaking,” Omar Awadallah, the Palestinian Authority’s deputy minister foreign of foreign affairs, discussed the prospects for statehood, the future of Hamas, and the struggle to restore governance in Gaza.
Asked whether Palestinian statehood was still achievable under the terms of the new Gaza peace plan — despite Netanyahu’s rejection of a two-state solution — Awadallah was emphatic: “Definitely, for sure. And we’re working every day relentlessly toward this goal.”
