By the people, for the people: A real peace plan must eliminate the colonial scaffolding. It should restore Palestinian sovereignty by addressing the central issue – Palestinian statehood – say the writers. — AFP
US President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan offers some constructive proposals on hostages, humanitarian aid, and reconstruction. Yet it is marred by an unmistakable colonial framework: Gaza is to be overseen by Trump himself, with former British prime minister Tony Blair and other outsiders cast as trustees for Palestinian governance, while Palestinian statehood is deferred indefinitely.
This logic is not new. It repeats the century-long Anglo-American approach to Palestine, beginning with the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, when the United Kingdom acquired the Mandate over Palestine, and continuing through successive United States interventions, direct and indirect, in the region since 1945.
