Mouin Rabbani, an expert in Palestinian affairs and the Arab-Israeli conflict, shares insightful commentary on recent diplomatic developments regarding Gaza. He critiques the newly unveiled 20-Point Plan from Trump and Netanyahu, questioning its true intentions and colonial implications. Rabbani highlights a significant shift as global recognitions of Palestinian statehood respond to grassroots pressure. He discusses active initiatives like the Gaza Sumud Flotilla aimed at direct intervention, emphasizing the importance of sustained activism for long-term change.
35:20
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
insights INSIGHT
Plan May Be A Tactical Maneuver
The 20-point plan released after Trump-Netanyahu's meeting differs from an earlier reported 21-point plan and raises key unanswered questions.
Mouin Rabbani warns the plan may be a tactical maneuver to secure Israeli captives while leaving Israel free to resume genocidal operations.
insights INSIGHT
Oslo-Style Conditional Progress
The 20-point proposal echoes Oslo-era dynamics where Israel retains rights while Palestinians bear obligations judged by Israel.
Rabbani likens Palestinians to a hamster wheel where incremental concessions never produce real self-determination.
insights INSIGHT
Board Of Peace As Colonial Viceroy
The proposed international 'Board of Peace' functions like a colonial provisional authority controlling Gaza's assets and governance.
Rabbani compares it to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, warning it would answer to foreign powers, not Palestinians.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Hilary Rantisi speaks with analyst Mouin Rabbani about political and diplomatic developments relating to the Israeli genocide in Gaza. They discuss the "20 Point Plan" that President Donald Trump released today, as well as his joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, asking about actual provisions to limit Israel's genocidal behavior and noting the colonial structure of the internationally-headed "Board of Peace" that will rule Gaza, according to the proposal. They discuss the symbolic measure of many countries recognizing Palestinian statehood at the UN last week; Mouin notes that this recognition is the first time that Western governments have taken steps for Palestinians in response to pressure from their own constituencies, and suggests that this action demonstrates that popular pressure can affect policy. Finally, Hilary and Mouin look at current initiatives, including the "United for Peace" proposal and the Gaza Sumud Flotilla, that aim to intervene directly in the genocide.
Mouin Rabbani is a nonresident fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs. He is a researcher, analyst, and commentator specializing in Palestinian affairs, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and contemporary Middle East issues. Among other previous positions, Rabbani served as principal political affairs officer with the Office of the UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, head of the Middle East unit with the Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation, and senior Middle East analyst and special advisor on Israel-Palestine with the International Crisis Group. He was also a researcher with Al-Haq, the West Bank affiliate of the International Commission of Jurists. Rabbani is a co-editor of Jadaliyya, where he also hosts the Connections podcast and edits its Quick Thoughts feature. He is also the managing editor and associate editor of the Journal of Peacebuilding and Development and a contributing editor of Middle East Report. In addition, Rabbani is a nonresident fellow at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies (CHS) and at Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN).
Hilary Rantisi grew up in Palestine and has been involved with education and advocacy on the Middle East since her move to the US. She is a 2025 Fellow at FMEP and was most recently the Associate Director of the Religion, Conflict and Peace Initiative (RCPI) and co-instructor of Learning in Context: Narratives of Displacement and Belonging in Israel/Palestine at Harvard Divinity School. She has over two decades of experience in institution building at Harvard, having been the Director of the Middle East Initiative (MEI) at Harvard Kennedy School of Government prior to her current role. She has a BA in Political Science/International Studies from Aurora University and a master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Chicago. Before moving to the US, Hilary worked at Birzeit University and at the Jerusalem-based Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center. There, she co-edited a photo essay book Our Story: The Palestinians with the Rev. Naim Ateek.
Occupied Thoughts 
