What Future for Palestine?

Since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a war that has long lost all sense of proportionality in its destructive force. Over 60,000 Palestinians have already lost their lives in the Gaza Strip, 18,000 of them children. The infrastructure of the coastal strip has been almost completely destroyed, and the enclave's more than two million inhabitants have been repeatedly displaced by the Israeli military and crammed into a fraction of the territory, which is becoming smaller and smaller. Furthermore, Israel is not allowing sufficient aid deliveries, and the humanitarian crisis is worsening into a massive famine. Fifty Israeli hostages remain in Hamas custody.

In the West Bank, Israeli settlement expansion and de facto annexation are advancing massively. Armed settlers commit serious acts of violence with impunity. The two-state solution – and with it the realisation of Palestinian self-determination in a sovereign state as a basis for a peaceful future for both peoples – seems further from reality than ever.

At the same time, international initiatives aimed at ending the war and resuming a political process are on the table. The Arab League, in early March 2025, presented a plan for Gaza’s future, which points to a way forward: in three phases – embedded within a political process – humanitarian aid, the restoration of essential infrastructure, and the reconstruction of the coastal strip are to be undertaken without displacement of the population. In New York, the political framework has been elaborated further.

In this context, the question of recognising Palestine as a state is also relevant. Three quarters of the world’s countries already recognise Palestine as a state; France, the United Kingdom and Canada have announced their intention to do so at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, which begins on 9 September.

On the opening day of the General Assembly, we will discuss with Palestinian experts: How can humanitarian aid be delivered effectively? How should the Gaza Strip (and the West Bank) be administered in future? What forms of governance are feasible, and how can Palestinian political participation be strengthened? What priorities do Palestinians themselves set for reconstruction in Gaza? What is central to restoring livelihoods for the Palestinian population? How can security be ensured for both Israelis and Palestinians? How could a productive political process be initiated and what should be its goal? And what role does recognition of the State of Palestine play in this regard?

Speakers:

• Bushra Khalidi, Policy Lead, Oxfam Ramallah
• Ghassan al-Khatib, Former Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Ramallah
• Mamoun Bsaiso, Senior Adviser to the UN and EU on Gaza reconstruction, Istanbul

Opening remarks: Imme Scholz, Co-president of Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung

Moderator: Kirsten Krampe, Office Director Ramallah, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung

Information:        
Bauke Baumann
Referent Israel, Palästina, Jordanien und Iran
Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung 
E baumann@boell.de
T +49(0)285 34 -321

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