Patrick Kingsley

And the sense that two million Palestinians in 2025 could be forced to leave their homes, however much this has been portrayed as a humanitarian gesture by the Trump administration, feels very much like a second Nakba.

And the sense that two million Palestinians in 2025 could be forced to leave their homes, however much this has been portrayed as a humanitarian gesture by the Trump administration, feels very much like a second Nakba.

Well, at first, they displayed the same kind of horror and anger that we saw from Palestinians, partly out of solidarity for the Palestinian cause, but also the need to care for and provide for such a large number of people. was considered an immensely destabilizing idea that could have both created social and political chaos for the Egyptian and Jordanian governments.

Well, at first, they displayed the same kind of horror and anger that we saw from Palestinians, partly out of solidarity for the Palestinian cause, but also the need to care for and provide for such a large number of people. was considered an immensely destabilizing idea that could have both created social and political chaos for the Egyptian and Jordanian governments.

So they rejected this plan and then gradually, Out of that horror and rejection came a slightly different response, which was not acceptance, but it was the realization that the Egyptians, the Jordanians, the Saudis, other leading Arab countries that are allied with the U.S. needed to come up with their own response, their own proposal for peace. the governance of post-war Gaza.

So they rejected this plan and then gradually, Out of that horror and rejection came a slightly different response, which was not acceptance, but it was the realization that the Egyptians, the Jordanians, the Saudis, other leading Arab countries that are allied with the U.S. needed to come up with their own response, their own proposal for peace. the governance of post-war Gaza.

And that's exactly what we see happening in the capitals of the Arab world today.

And that's exactly what we see happening in the capitals of the Arab world today.

That's one way of putting it. And it is also now what the Trump administration and its top envoys are saying was the intention of President Trump when he made this proposal in the first place. Steve Witkoff, his Middle East envoy, said...

That's one way of putting it. And it is also now what the Trump administration and its top envoys are saying was the intention of President Trump when he made this proposal in the first place. Steve Witkoff, his Middle East envoy, said...

last week that president trump didn't mean this literally he meant to get the arab world talking and proposing their own ideas to help try to break this deadlock about gaza's future that has been hanging over the region for the last 16 months if not the last 75 years what kind of plan are they talking about exactly and more importantly how would it actually work It's not yet clear.

last week that president trump didn't mean this literally he meant to get the arab world talking and proposing their own ideas to help try to break this deadlock about gaza's future that has been hanging over the region for the last 16 months if not the last 75 years what kind of plan are they talking about exactly and more importantly how would it actually work It's not yet clear.

The leaders of the Arab world, or most of them, met last week in Riyadh to try and thrash out a proposal. They're meant to meet again next week in Cairo to talk more. From what we understand about what's being discussed at these meetings, the main proposals are for the leaders of the

The leaders of the Arab world, or most of them, met last week in Riyadh to try and thrash out a proposal. They're meant to meet again next week in Cairo to talk more. From what we understand about what's being discussed at these meetings, the main proposals are for the leaders of the

Arab world to have some kind of oversight over a local Palestinian governing authority that does not include Hamas in exchange for Israel promising that at some point in the future Gaza and the West Bank, the other main territory where Palestinians live under Israeli occupation, will be able to become their own sovereign Palestinian state.

Arab world to have some kind of oversight over a local Palestinian governing authority that does not include Hamas in exchange for Israel promising that at some point in the future Gaza and the West Bank, the other main territory where Palestinians live under Israeli occupation, will be able to become their own sovereign Palestinian state.

The problem with this proposal is that it requires both Hamas to give up power and Israel to promise Palestinian sovereignty. Neither of those two things seem very likely at the moment.

The problem with this proposal is that it requires both Hamas to give up power and Israel to promise Palestinian sovereignty. Neither of those two things seem very likely at the moment.

Exactly. That was the case before President Trump made his proposal and it remains the case now. And the whole thing is reminiscent of trying to solve a Rubik's Cube. You turn the cube in one direction and you bring two squares slightly closer to where you want them to be. But at the same time, you dislodge another square bringing yourself back to where you were a moment ago.

Exactly. That was the case before President Trump made his proposal and it remains the case now. And the whole thing is reminiscent of trying to solve a Rubik's Cube. You turn the cube in one direction and you bring two squares slightly closer to where you want them to be. But at the same time, you dislodge another square bringing yourself back to where you were a moment ago.