The Biden administration and a small group of Middle East partners are attempting to bypass Israel and rush to complete a comprehensive plan for long-term peace between Israel and Palestinians, including a firm timeline for the establishment of a Palestinian state that could be announced as early as the next several weeks, according to a Washington Post report.
The administration is trying to use a proposed pause in the Israel-Hamas war for a hostage deal to gain support for the formation of an interim Palestinian government which would then take over Gaza and establish a state which could be internationally recognized.
The Post added however that “The elephant in the planning room is Israel, and whether its government will acquiesce to much of what is being discussed: the withdrawal of many, if not all, settler communities on the West Bank; a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem; the reconstruction of Gaza; and security and governance arrangements for a combined West Bank and Gaza. The hope is that Israel would also be offered specific security guarantees and normalization with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states that would be hard to refuse.”
