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He lost his childhood homes, dozens of family members, and most of his hearing in his left ear to Israeli bombs, yet Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib insists that Palestinians must also take responsibility for Gaza's destruction and for peace. Most Gazans, he insists, have turned against Hamas for oppressing them, enriching itself, and bringing catastrophe to Gaza in the aftermath of October 7th.
Alkhatib calls for Palestinian introspection and agency while also faulting Israel's settlement expansion and its undermining of moderates. He envisions a demilitarized Gaza run by nonpartisan technocrats, a Palestinian identity defined by aspiration rather than opposition, and direct Israeli-Palestinian dialogue—starting with a "Great Reset" of 100 days without violence on either side. EconTalk host Russ Roberts, more skeptical that Hamas will ever truly disarm, shares Alkhatib's hope that the two peoples might one day live as peaceful neighbors.
Resources
Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib. “Ahmed F. Alkhatib.” Atlantic Council.
Alkhatib, Ahmed Fouad. Hamas and Its Two Million Hostages. Jewish Quarterly 264. Melbourne: Jewish Quarterly, 2026.
Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib. “Voices from Gaza (with Ahmed Alkhatib).” EconTalk. Interview with Russ Roberts. March 18, 2024.
Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. “TBI Comment on New Polling by Zogby Research Services on Attitudes of Palestinians towards the War, the Palestinian Leadership and the Future of Gaza.” May 29, 2025.
Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Board of Peace.”
“Muslims and Religiously Unaffiliated View Palestinians More Favorably than Other Groups Do.” Pew Research Center. July 9, 2026.
Emanuel Fabian, Gianluca Pacchiani. “Seized Hamas Documents Show Terror Group Inflated Its Support Rates, IDF Says.” The Times of Israel, August 30, 2024.
Russ Roberts is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution. In 2006, he founded the award-winning weekly podcast EconTalk, which has featured guests including Milton Friedman, Martha Nussbaum, Christopher Hitchens, Agnes Callard, Bill James, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Amor Towles, and Emily Oster. All 875+ episodes remain available free of charge at EconTalk.org and reach an audience of more than 125,000 listeners in 200 countries.
Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib leads Realign For Palestine, an Atlantic Council project that challenges entrenched narratives in the Israel and Palestine discourse and develops a new policy framework for rejuvenated pro-Palestine advocacy. Realign For Palestine aims to cultivate a new generation of Palestinian voices committed to a two-nation solution, nonviolence, and radical pragmatism. His writing and opinions have been published and featured across the US, Israeli, and international press, and his views are prominently featured across social media platforms. He grew up in Gaza City and left Gaza in 2005.