A nephew of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has returned to the West Bank after four years of self-exile, outlining a roadmap to secure peace in Gaza with Hamas transforming into a political party and declaring his readiness to help govern.
Nasser Al Qudwa, a prominent critic of the current Palestinian leadership, also urged “a serious confrontation of corruption in this country”. He said President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah Movement needed deep reform and must do more to counter Jewish settler violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
“The first duty … is to regain confidence of the street — something that we lost — and we have to be brave enough and say that we don’t have it anymore, and without it, frankly, it’s useless,” Qudwa said.
Qudwa left the West Bank in 2021 after he was expelled from Fatah, the movement founded by his uncle, over his decision to field his own list in elections, defying Abbas who cancelled the vote. Abbas, 89, readmitted Qudwa to Fatah last week, after offering an amnesty for expelled members.
Role in Gaza
His return coincides with renewed pressure on Abbas to enact long-delayed reforms in the Palestinian Authority as it presses for a role in Gaza, lost to Hamas in 2007, despite Israeli objections and being sidelined in President Donald Trump’s plan.
Gaza’s future governance has moved into focus as Trump has declared the conflict over. The next phase must tackle demands that Hamas disarm and end its rule in Gaza, from where it launched the Oct 7, 2023 raid on Israel.
Although light on detail, Trump’s proposal foresees an internationally supervised technocratic Palestinian committee running Gaza, and the deployment of an international force that would support a new Palestinian police.