Donald Trump
By Alpha Amadu Jalloh
The so-called Trump Peace Plan for Palestine, reportedly managed by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, sidelines the very leadership that has represented the Palestinian people for decades. Any plan that excludes the Palestinian Authority is not a roadmap to peace but a political maneuver destined to deepen division and despair.
President Donald Trump’s proposed “Peace Plan” for Palestine has reignited global debate, not over peace itself, but over the sincerity of those who claim to pursue it. The idea that a plan for the Palestinian people could be managed by a small group led by Trump and run by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair while sidelining the Palestinian Authority (PA) is nothing short of political arrogance disguised as diplomacy.
To exclude the recognized and legitimate representatives of the Palestinians from decisions about their own destiny is, quite simply, like shaving a man’s head in his absence. It is an act of disregard, humiliation, and disrespect for the long and painful journey of a people who have endured displacement, occupation, and decades of unfulfilled promises of peace. As Nelson Mandela once warned, “We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.” These words are a moral reminder that the oppression of one people anywhere diminishes the humanity of all.
The Palestinian Authority, with all its imperfections, remains the internationally recognized leadership of the Palestinian people. Since its creation under the Oslo Accords, the PA has maintained international recognition, built diplomatic relationships, and kept alive the fragile hope for a two-state solution. To cast them aside now as irrelevant is intellectually weak, politically reckless, and morally indefensible.
Over the years, the PA has shown restraint, pursued negotiations in good faith, and maintained coordination with Israel and neighboring states under extreme pressure. While factions including Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah have resorted to armed resistance, the Palestinian Authority has consistently chosen dialogue and diplomacy. Treating the PA in the same light as these groups is a grave miscalculation that risks plunging the region into further instability.
The Trump-Blair-led initiative appears less as a genuine peace effort and more as an external management project designed to serve political convenience rather than the cause of justice. Tony Blair’s history in the Middle East offers little reassurance. His association with the Iraq War and his ineffective tenure as a peace envoy for the Quartet left the region more fractured and disillusioned. Entrusting the Palestinian future to individuals with such records risks repeating history’s most painful mistakes.
A plan without the Palestinian Authority is like a body without a soul. It lacks legitimacy, context, and moral grounding. For peace to be sustainable, it must be inclusive, involving all key stakeholders, especially those who experience occupation and displacement daily. As Julius Nyerere observed, “It is not the foreigner who will liberate us, but the people themselves guided by the wisdom of their own leaders.” Any solution drafted externally while sidelining the Palestinian leadership is doomed to fail.
The Role of Arab States
Equally concerning is the apparent exclusion or marginalization of neighboring Arab states such as Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and others that have historically played critical roles in supporting the Palestinian cause. Their geographical proximity and historical ties make them indispensable to any peace process. Ignoring or reducing their involvement risks dismantling the regional framework that has sustained diplomatic dialogue for decades.
The Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, first proposed by Saudi Arabia, remains one of the most comprehensive frameworks for a two-state solution, offering normalization of relations with Israel in exchange for full withdrawal from occupied territories and the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. That framework, endorsed by the Arab League, still represents the most credible roadmap toward peace. Yet Trump’s unilateral approach disregards it entirely, favoring backroom deals and headline-grabbing declarations over meaningful diplomacy.
The Israeli Question
On the Israeli side, we must recall the courage of leaders like Yitzhak Rabin, a man who understood that peace required sacrifice. Rabin paid the ultimate price for daring to envision a shared future for Israelis and Palestinians. His assassination by an Israeli extremist was not only an act of violence; it was a direct assault on the idea of peace itself. Rabin’s legacy reminds us that peace cannot be achieved through walls, settlements, or military might, but through dialogue, empathy, and compromise.
Unfortunately, subsequent Israeli leaderships have moved away from that vision, encouraged by American administrations more interested in geopolitical influence than genuine reconciliation. The expansion of settlements, fragmentation of Palestinian lands, and tightening of economic controls over Gaza and the West Bank have all but buried the dream of a viable Palestinian state.
Learning from South Africa
History teaches us that systemic oppression eventually collapses under the weight of justice and moral courage. The apartheid system in South Africa systematically excluded Black South Africans from participating in governance, yet through the leadership of Nelson Mandela, and countless others, justice prevailed. Similarly, the Palestinians cannot be excluded from decisions affecting their own destiny without expecting resistance, unrest, and moral outcry. The lessons of South Africa show that peace imposed externally on the oppressed rarely succeeds; only inclusive solutions rooted in justice endure.
Moral and Spiritual Foundations for Peace
Across Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, the call for justice, compassion, and fairness is a shared command. These are not mere moral ideals; they are divine injunctions that guide human coexistence.
From the Holy Qur’an, Allah reminds us in Surah Al-Ma’idah (5:8):
“O you who believe! Stand out firmly for Allah, as witnesses in justice; and let not the hatred of a people cause you to swerve from justice. Be just: that is nearer to piety.”
This verse captures the essence of fairness: justice must never be selective, and even in conflict, the moral high ground must be preserved. Any peace plan that ignores justice is doomed to fail, for peace without justice is merely an intermission between conflicts.
From the Bible, the Book of Matthew teaches in Matthew 5:9:
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.”
True peacemakers do not impose their will upon others; they listen, understand, and build bridges. Excluding the Palestinian Authority, the recognized voice of a people, is the opposite of peacemaking. It is the imposition of silence upon the oppressed, and such peace cannot endure.
From the Torah, in Deuteronomy 16:20, we read:
“Justice, justice you shall pursue, that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God gives you.”
This repetition, “justice, justice,” emphasizes its non-negotiable nature. It reminds us that the divine promise of land and peace comes only through the relentless pursuit of justice. As Professor PLO Lumumba warns, “Leadership that ignores the voice of the people is not leadership; it is tyranny dressed as governance.” Ignoring the Palestinian leadership is not leadership; it is the very tyranny that history and morality reject.
The Path Forward
A true and lasting peace for the Palestinians will not come from external management or imposed solutions. It will come from dialogue that respects Palestinian leadership, sovereignty, and dignity. The Palestinian Authority must be central to any process, not as a token participant, but as an equal partner.
Arab states must also be fully involved, for without regional support and consensus, no plan can achieve legitimacy or longevity. The international community must uphold fairness, hold all sides accountable to international law, and not reward occupation and aggression.
Peace is not a political transaction; it is a human covenant rooted in justice. As long as plans are drafted in Washington and London while the voices of Ramallah and Gaza are silenced, conflict will persist, for no one accepts a peace negotiated in their absence.
In the end, the Trump Peace Plan is not a roadmap to peace but a detour into deeper division. It ignores the lessons of history, the cries of the oppressed, and the divine call for justice that resonates through the Qur’an, the Bible, the Torah, and the wisdom of great leaders alike.
Real peace will come when the world stands with the Palestinian people not as subjects of negotiation, but as partners in their own liberation. Until then, any plan that excludes their legitimate leadership is not peace; it is another chapter in the long betrayal of a people yearning to be free.
About the author:
Alpha Amadu Jalloh is a Sierra Leonean journalist and Op-Ed writer based in Australia
