28 april 2024, squinting to somehow see something better

I have been involved in the extraordinary palestine emerging effort, which came from a group of us in a room in london in december, palestinians and internationals, trying hard, amidst the continuing catastrophe and destruction in gaza, to actually create something that could help. That turned out to be a pretty robust economic blueprint of things that really need to happen if gaza and the west bank, which everyone in the room and since has agreed must be treated as singular unit, are ever going to see genuine reconstruction and a real road to prosperity. This bold vision is also for israelis and friends, because as hard as it is to process amidst the ongoing hostage and political traumas, "the day after" in israel depends on the day after in palestine. Without a totally different mutually-agreed, internationally-guaranteed and embedded security, political and governance framework, neither side of the green line will see stability. It is not too early to start planning. Indeed, temporary solutions have a habit of becoming permanent, so the sooner there is a long-term plan the better. Which is where the highly ambitious palestine emerging can help, rejecting as it does the incremental, constrained view of economic growth of the last decades that has served palestinians so poorly. Its transformative "gamechangers" will positively impact palestine and the region for generations. While challenging to israel, such as linking the west bank and gaza through a physical corridor, all are feasible and indeed essential if economic viability is genuinely a desired outcome. The corridor, as an example, was discussed throughout the 90s, and in 2008 the israeli prime minister and palestinian president actually initialled land lease agreements. The old economic architecture, predicated on decades old arrangements that never evolved and now don't work, coupled with the decades old blockade of the strip, need to change. The status quo ante is gone. Something better must take its place. Palestine emerging is one such schema, built on knowledge, courage and trust. Very much more of these virtues are urgently needed.