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If you missed my conversation with
, the recording is essential viewing - and I mean that. In wide-ranging discussion that was at times heartbreaking and at others cautiously hopeful, Ahmed offered the kind of nuanced perspective on Gaza’s future that’s become vanishingly rare in our polarized discourse about this conflict.Ahmed, who writes the Substack
heads Realign for Palestine at the Atlantic Council, but his credentials don’t capture why his voice matters so profoundly right now. He’s a Gaza native who left at 15 and received political asylum in the United States in 2007 - literally the day Hamas took over the Gaza strip. He’s lost about three dozen members of his family in this war, several of whom opened their homes to displaced families and were killed while sheltering dozens of Palestinians.Yet Ahmed has maintained remarkable empathy and clarity about both Israeli and Palestinian suffering and responsibility- a position that’s earned him serious threats from Hamas supporters while also drawing accusations of being insufficiently pro-Palestine from activists who’ve never set foot in Gaza. As he told me: “I wouldn’t do this differently. I hold Hamas responsible for our people’s suffering.”
Ahmed’s assessment was blunt: While Trump deserves credit for stopping the killing and bringing hostages home, phase 2 of his plan is remains “strictly theoretical.” There’s no concrete plan for the international stabilization force, no clarity on which countries will contribute troops or funding, and no governance structure for Gaza..
Meanwhile, Hamas has come out of its tunnels and reasserted control - deploying armed forces, executing alleged collaborators in public squares, and demonstrating they’re very much armed and still in charge. Ahmed noted that many pro-Palestine activists who opposed police violence domestically are now celebrating Hamas killing people they label as “gangsters and looters.” And he is convinced Hamas will attempt to be “recycled” into the new security apparatus rather than removed.
One of the most compelling parts of our conversation addressed a question I hear constantly: where are the moderate Palestinian voices who can build a better future?
Ahmed believes there is no shortage of Palestinian talent. Tens of thousands of Palestinians - academics, engineers, journalists, bureaucrats - are ready to serve. But the corrupt PA/Hamas/PLO infrastructure blocks them. He sees the solution as decentralized governance for the West Bank and Gaza separately under a “broad umbrella” of statehood,
Ahmed sees Gaza as the test case - a chance to demonstrate that Palestinians can govern and prosper when given a fair chance. But the window is closing fast. If phase 2 of Trump’s deal stagnates, if Hamas gets rehabilitated instead of removed, if moderate Arab states remain sidelined, if no pathway emerges for new Palestinian leadership - the opportunity may be lost for a generation.
“Moderates need wins to emerge, he said. “They must be able to show their people that moderation pays off. Moderation brings a better life.”
Ahmed’s vision requires Palestinians taking agency, building state institutions, and moving away from perpetual victimhood narratives. But it also requires sustained international pressure to actually implement rest of the deal, sideline Hamas and empower moderate voices with tangible wins.
Watch the full conversation. Ahmed’s perspective - informed by profound personal loss, deep connections across the region, and a commitment to breaking the cycle of violence - offers something increasingly rare: a pathway forward that doesn’t require choosing between Israeli and Palestinian humanity. We need more voices like his.
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