Hillary Clinton backs Trump’s plan for Gaza
The former 2016 presidential candidate and Donald’s rival: “Many people don’t like him, but he’s the best we’ve got”
The 20-point plan for Gaza “is not what many of us would have drawn up, but it remains the only framework backed by sufficient influence, political commitment and potential resources to push the parties towards implementation”. This is according to a commentary published by the Financial Times by former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The comment written for the FT
“The Board of Peace and the plan contain elements that many governments do not like or do not agree with,” he continues - Some are uncomfortable with the political sequence, sceptical about the provisions on governance and Palestinian representation, or wary of placing their trust in a US-led framework at a time when confidence in US leadership has waned. Many are understandably sceptical of an approach so closely associated with Donald Trump. I understand this scepticism and, to some extent, share it. Yet, if even I, a staunch opponent of President Trump, can accept that this is the best option in a terrible situation, then surely others can too.” According to Clinton, “a particular form of diplomatic paralysis occurs when governments decide that perfection is the enemy of the possible”.
The realistic scenario
But “we cannot” wait; “none of us can. There is no ready-made alternative framework. No rival coalition is quietly preparing a more viable proposal. Without such a plan, the crisis in Gaza can only worsen, with Hamas maintaining its political and practical influence over a devastated population through armed groups, local administrative structures, aid distribution networks and access to basic goods and services”. Furthermore, “there will be no security for Israel. No viable path to Palestinian self-determination. The people of Gaza understand this better than anyone else: without demilitarisation and a transition that removes Hamas’s rule, there will be no meaningful reconstruction, no realistic prospect of Israel withdrawing from the 60 per cent of the Gaza Strip it currently controls, and no credible path towards a future led by the Palestinians themselves”.
