{"id":297780,"date":"2025-07-07T12:01:29","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T11:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=297780"},"modified":"2025-07-01T09:44:28","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T08:44:28","slug":"the-time-has-arrived-for-a-comprehensive-middle-east-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2025\/07\/the-time-has-arrived-for-a-comprehensive-middle-east-peace\/","title":{"rendered":"The Time Has Arrived for a Comprehensive Middle East Peace"},"content":{"rendered":"

30 Jun 2025 – <\/em>The attack by Israel and the US on Iran had two significant effects.<\/p>\n

First, it once again exposed the root cause of turmoil in the region: Israel\u2019s project to \u201creshape the Middle East\u201d through regime-change, aimed at maintaining its dominance and blocking a Palestinian state.<\/p>\n

Second, it highlighted the futility and recklessness of this strategy. The only path to peace is a comprehensive agreement that addresses Palestine\u2019s statehood, Israel\u2019s security, Iran\u2019s peaceful nuclear program, and the economic recovery of the region.<\/p>\n

Israel wants to topple the Iranian government because Iran has supported proxies and non-state actors aligned with the Palestinians. Israel has also consistently undermined US-Iran diplomacy regarding Iran\u2019s nuclear program.<\/p>\n

Instead of endless wars, Israel\u2019s security can be ensured by two key diplomatic steps \u2013ending militancy by establishing a Palestinian state with UN Security Council guarantees, and lifting sanctions on Iran in exchange for a peaceful and verifiable nuclear program.<\/p>\n

The far-right Israeli government\u2019s refusal to accept a Palestinian state is the root of the problem.<\/p>\n

When the British empire promised a Jewish homeland in Mandatory Palestine\u00a0in 1917, the Palestinian Arabs constituted\u00a090% of the population<\/a>\u00a0and Jews less than 10% of the population.\u00a0 In 1947, with US intense lobbying, the UN General Assembly voted to grant 56% of Palestine to a\u00a0new Zionist state<\/a>, while the Jews were only 33% of the population. Palestinians rejected this as a violation of their right to self-determination. After the 1948 war, Israel expanded to 78% of Palestine, and in 1967,\u00a0occupied the remaining 22%<\/a>\u2014Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.<\/p>\n

Instead of returning occupied lands in exchange for peace, Israeli right-wing politicians insisted on permanent control of 100% of the land, with the\u00a0Likud founding charter<\/a> declaring in 1977 that there would be only Israeli sovereignty \u201cbetween the Sea and Jordan\u201d.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu represents this policy of domination \u2013 and has served as Prime Minister for a total of 17 years since 1996. When he came to power, he and his US neocon allies authored the \u201cClean Break<\/a>\u201d strategy to block the creation of a Palestinian state. Instead of pursuing land for peace, Israel aimed to reshape the Middle East by overthrowing governments that supported the Palestinian cause. The US would be the implementing partner of this strategy.<\/p>\n

This is exactly what happened after 9\/11, as the US led or sponsored wars against Iraq (invasion in 2003), Lebanon (U.S. funding and arming Israeli aggressions), Libya (NATO bombing in 2011), Syria (CIA operation during 2010\u2019s), Sudan (supporting rebels to break Sudan apart in 2011), and Somalia (backing Ethiopia\u2019s invasion in 2006).<\/p>\n

Contrary to the\u00a0glib promises by Netanyahu<\/a> to the US Congress in 2002 \u2014 that regime change in Iraq would bring a new day to the Middle East \u2014 the 2003 Iraq War augured the events that were to come across the region.\u00a0 Iraq descended into turmoil, and since then, each new war has brought death, destruction, and economic disarray.<\/p>\n

This month, Israel attacked Iran even as negotiations between Iran and the US were underway to ensure the peaceful use of Iran\u2019s nuclear program \u2013 \u00a0repeating the same WMD propaganda that Netanyahu used to justify the Iraq War.<\/p>\n

Israel has been claiming for more than\u00a030 years<\/a>\u00a0that Iran is on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons. However, on June 18, 2025, the\u00a0IAEA Director General<\/a> stated that there is \u201cno proof of a systematic effort\u201d by Iran to develop nuclear weapons. More to the point, Iran and the US were actively engaged in negotiations according to which the IAEA would monitor and verify the peaceful nature of Iran\u2019s nuclear program.<\/p>\n

The attack on Iran proves yet again the futility and nihilism of Netanyahu\u2019s approach.\u00a0 The Israeli and US attacks accomplished nothing positive.\u00a0 According to most analysts, Iran\u2019s enriched uranium remains intact, but is now in a secret location rather than under IAEA monitoring.\u00a0 In the meantime, with Israel\u2019s ongoing genocide in Gaza \u2013 neither peace nor security have been achieved.<\/p>\n

Israel has driven the region to a 4,000-km swash of violence from Libya to Iran through its reckless, lawless, and warmongering actions, all ultimately aimed at preventing a State of Palestine by \u201cremaking\u201d the Middle East.<\/p>\n

The solution is clear: it is time for the United States to recognize that its own strategic interests require a decisive break from partnering in Israel\u2019s destructive strategy.<\/p>\n

Prioritizing genuine peace in the Middle East is not only a moral imperative, but a fundamental U.S. interest\u2014one that can only be achieved through a comprehensive peace deal. The key pillar of this deal is for the\u00a0US to lift its veto<\/a> on a Palestinian State on the borders of 4 June 1967, and to do so at the start, not in some vague distant future that never actually arrives.<\/p>\n

For more than 20 years, Arab nations have\u00a0backed a practical peace plan<\/a>.\u00a0 So too has the\u00a0Organization for Islamic Cooperation<\/a>\u00a0(OIC), with its 57 member countries, and\u00a0the League of Arab States<\/a>\u00a0(LAS), with its 22 members.\u00a0 So too have almost all the nations in the UN General Assembly.\u00a0 So too has the\u00a0International Court of Justice<\/a> in its 2024 ruling that Israel\u2019s occupation is illegal. Only Israel, with support from the US veto, has stood in the way.<\/p>\n

Here is a seven-point peace plan in which all parties would benefit. Israel would gain peace and security. Palestine would achieve statehood. Iran would win an end to economic sanctions. The US would win an end to costly and illegal wars fought on Israel\u2019s behalf, as well as the risks of nuclear proliferation if the current violence continues. The Middle East would win economic development, security and justice.<\/p>\n

\u2013 First, an immediate ceasefire would apply across the entire region \u2013 and the ceasefire would include an immediate release of all hostages and prisoners.
\n\u2013 Second, the UN Security Council would vote upfront to welcome Palestine as the 194th UN Member State on the 4 June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Israel and Palestine could subsequently agree on mutually desired border adjustments.
\n\u2013 Third,Israel would withdraw from all territories occupied since 1967.\u00a0 UN-mandated international forces would ensure a peaceful, orderly transition, a transfer of Palestinian territories to Palestinian authorities, and mutual security for both Israel and Palestine.
\n\u2013 Fourth, the territorial integrity and sovereignty would be guaranteed for Lebanon, Syria, and all states in the region. All non-state armed groups would be demilitarized, and foreign troops would be withdrawn.
\n\u2013 Fifth, the UN Security Council would adopt an updated nuclear agreement with Iran, including binding verification, and with all economic sanctions on Iran lifted alongside Iran\u2019s verified compliance with the peaceful uses of its nuclear program.
\n\u2013 Sixth, Israel and all Arab and Islamic states would establish full diplomatic relations following the admission of the State of Palestine as UN member state.
\n\u2013 Seventh, the Middle East nations would establish an international fund for rebuilding the war-torn parts of Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine, with contributions coming from within the region and from external sources.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

______________________________________________<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Jeffrey D. Sachs, Professor of Sustainable Development and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University, is Director of Columbia\u2019s Center for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. He has served as Special Adviser to three UN Secretaries-General [Kofi Annan (2001-7), Ban Ki-moon (2008-16), and currently serves as an SDG Advocate under Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres. His books include <\/em>The End of Poverty<\/a>, Common Wealth<\/a>, The Age of Sustainable Development<\/a>, Building the New American Economy<\/a>, and most recently,<\/em> A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism<\/a>. Sachs was also an advisor to the last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, as well as to the first president of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The attack by Israel and the US on Iran had two significant effects. First, it once again exposed Israel\u2019s project to \u201creshape the Middle East\u201d through regime-change and block a Palestinian state. Second, it highlighted the futility and recklessness of this strategy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":149894,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[87,865,1126,1050,742,88,767,427,2433,1190,880,70,1025],"class_list":["post-297780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-north-africa","tag-gaza","tag-genocide","tag-hegemony","tag-imperialism","tag-iran","tag-israel","tag-middle-east","tag-palestine","tag-peacebuilding","tag-regime-change","tag-state-terrorism","tag-usa","tag-west-bank"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=297780"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":297782,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297780\/revisions\/297782"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=297780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}