Former Israeli PM and former Palestinian foreign minister unveil joint plan to end Israel-Hamas war

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and former Palestinian Authority foreign minister Nasser al-Kidwa are going public with a joint initiative to end the Israel-Hamas war.

Olmert and al-Kidwa discussed their plan — which is based on a two-state proposal Olmert presented to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2008 — in an interview airing on Rosemary Barton Live today.

Olmert and al-Kidwa told CBC chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton why they believe their proposal will work despite the recent escalation in violence.

“It’s exactly when things are complicated and very difficult that we need leaders that say with a very loud voice that this is not the way forward,” said al-Kidwa.

“And the way forward should be the political solution and the establishment of peace.”

Olmert and al-Kidwa’s joint proposal calls for a ceasefire and the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. It also calls for the release of all hostages being held by Hamas in exchange for an “agreed” number of Palestinian prisoners.

It would return to Israel’s borders to where they were in 1967. Israel would annex 4.4 per cent of the West Bank while the Palestinian state would obtain an equal amount of Israeli territory, which would include a corridor linking the West Bank with the Gaza Strip.

Olmert said that while he understands people on both sides of the conflict will disagree with their plan, a two-state solution is the only way to end the bloodshed.

“There will be many [on] the Palestinian side as well as [on] the Israeli side will reject this and will criticize us and will condemn us,” he said.

“And it will not increase our popularity, both Dr. al-Kidwa and myself, but this is a first step that has to be made in order to move forward into a new reality.”

The peace proposal also calls for the deployment of a Temporary Arab Security Presence (TASP) in Gaza, in coordination with the withdrawal of Israeli forces, to stabilize the situation. A council of commissioners linked to the Palestinian Authority would be established to administer and rebuild Gaza. Its goal would be to prepare Gaza and the West Bank for elections in 24 to 36 months.

Olmert was Israel’s 12th prime minister from 2006 to 2009 and led Israel’s war with Hezbollah in 2006. Al-Kidwa was the Palestinian Authority foreign minister from 2005 to 2006 and the PLO’s representative to the United Nations from 1991 to 2005. He’s also the nephew of former Palestinian president Yasser Arafat.

The two men said that while they weren’t friends in the past, they realized they had the same goals.

“We suddenly found that there is the same desire that obsessed both of us, which is to move not in the direction of becoming popular in the streets or in the media, but in the direction of changing realities … in a way that can make life safer and and more significant for all of us,” said Olmert.

Olmert and al-Kidwa said that for their proposal to work, they need support from the public and from relevant governments.

“We are doing our best. We are working day and night to achieve exactly that by making it known to the public, and by also trying to make it available to many governments, as many as possible,” said al-Kidwa.

‘We have to reach out for world leaders to start to talk about it, and to insist on having this as part of the international agenda, and that’s what we’re trying to do,” said Olmert.

Monday marks one year since the Israel-Hamas war began. On Oct. 7, 2023, the militant group staged the deadliest assault on Israel in that country’s history, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostage, according to Israeli officials.

Israel’s ensuing war against Hamas has devastated Gaza, displacing most of its 2.3 million people and killing more than 41,600, according to Gaza health authorities.

Olmert and al-Kidwa said that, even after a year of shocking violence, they still see hope for peace through a two-state solution.

“You know, when it is really dark, there is a need for the real light, and I think this is the real light,” said al-Kidwa.