In an opinion piece published Sept. 5 in news agency Pass Blue, author Mona Ali Khalil presented the details of a peace plan put forward by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and former Palestinian Foreign Minister Nasser Al-Kidwa, to end the war in Gaza. The two have “agreed to work together to promote the achievement of peace between the Palestinian and Israeli peoples and peace in the Middle East in general,” Ali Khalil explained. While the proposal has received scant attention by international media, Pope Francis showed great interest in it, when he received the two leaders and other peace activists in an audience at the Vatican on Oct. 17, during which they presented him with the details of the plan. (See separate report.)
Neither Olmert nor Al-Kidwa now hold public office, but they have a trajectory of working for peace for many years. Olmert was Israeli Prime Minister from 2006 to 2009; Al-Kidwa was Palestine Foreign Minister from 2005 to 2006. According to Vatican News, Olmert was Israeli Prime Minister when the 2006 Lebanon war ceasefire was signed, and was behind the last real attempt at reaching an agreement for the creation of two states with Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas. Al-Kidwa, a nephew of the Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat, whom he represented at the UN, is known for his pro-peace stance.
