LEVANT PEACE PROJECT
This proposal advocates for the recognition of Gazans as former Ottoman citizens, granting them citizenship rights in Turkey and Ottoman Syria (a potential Turkish-administered region in a federalized Syria). The plan builds upon historical records indicating that many Palestinians, especially in Gaza, were Ottoman subjects before 1917 and seeks to establish a legal framework for their repatriation and integration under a Second Treaty of Lausanne. |
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| KEY COMPONENTS OF THE PROPOSAL |
Legal Recognition of Ottoman Citizenship: Turkey acknowledges Gazans of Ottoman descent as eligible for citizenship or special residency status. Similar to Israel’s Law of Return, Gazans would be entitled to relocate to Turkey or Turkish-administered areas in Syria. |
| Repatriation Support & Resettlement Assistance: Economic incentives, infrastructure projects, and financial aid would facilitate the voluntary relocation of Gazans. Resettlement zones could be established in Southeastern Turkey (Gaziantep, Hatay, Şanlıurfa) and Turkish-influenced parts of Syria (Afrin, Idlib, Raqqa). |
| A Second Treaty of Lausanne to Redefine Regional Borders & Citizenship Rights: Modeled after the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, which settled Ottoman territorial transitions, this new treaty would: Redefine Palestinian national status, granting an alternative citizenship option in Turkey or Ottoman Syria; Formalize a Turkish-led governance structure in northern Syria, integrating Syrian Arab and Turkmen populations under a Turkish protectorate. |
| Geopolitical & Strategic Implications: Reduces demographic pressure on Gaza and provides an alternative to the Israel-Palestine conflict; Strengthens Turkey’s regional influence while ensuring the stability of a federalized Syrian state; Aligns with U.S. and European interests by reducing refugee migration to the West and stabilizing the Eastern Mediterranean. |
| Conclusion: This framework offers a historical, legal, and geopolitical solution to the Palestinian refugee crisis while reinforcing Turkey’s role as a regional power. A Second Treaty of Lausanne could reshape borders and citizenship rights to accommodate both Gazans, registered refugee Palestinians and Syrian communities under Turkish leadership, creating a new, stable geopolitical order in the Middle East. |
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CONTACT US AT: peace@levantpeace.org
| KEY HISTORIC EVENTS (In construction, make suggestions) |
Jewish History (<586 BCE -): From the destruction of the First Temple (586 BCE) and the exile of the Jews by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzer, the populations of the Levant from Gaza to Turkey have endured an ending series of wars, expulsions, exterminations, and restorations. The Babylonians were conquered by the Persians who under Daris II restored the Jewish population and built the Second Temple about the Foundation Stone. Then came the Greeks and the Romans. In 70 CE, the Roman Emporer Titus destroyed of the Second Temple (70 CE), and exiled and enslaved of the Jews. Christian History (33 CE -): Tradition has See of Rome as being founded by Apostles Peter and Paul in the 1st century. Nearly 2000 years later, the Vatican (Tomb of St. Peter 64 CE) and the Arch of Titus (81 CE) in its famous relief the plunder of the Temple artifacts attest to their impact. As pagan Rome declined, the Byzantine Christian Empire arose with Constantinople (381 CE) and the Hagia Sophia (581 CE) as its sacred church. center. In Jerusalem, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (335 CE) was consecrated by Constantine I. Early Muslim History (610 CE -1096 CE): The Levant was a culturally and religiously diverse region under early Islamic rule which included a Muslim majority alongside significant communities of Eastern Christians—such as Greek Orthodox, Syriac, Maronite, and Armenian Christians—and Jews, particularly in cities like Jerusalem, Tiberias, and Sidon. These groups coexisted for centuries under Islamic governance, living under the subordinate status of dhimmi. Crusades (1096-1291): The Crusades, beginning with the First Crusade (1096–1099), drastically disrupted the Levant’s demographic balance. When Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099, they massacred large numbers of Muslims and Jews, effectively depopulating the city’s non-Christian inhabitants. Western Europeans—referred to as Franks—established the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem and other Crusader states, forming a ruling elite often isolated from the local population. Although some intermarriage and cultural exchange occurred, the Franks generally remained separate from indigenous communities. Eastern Christians were caught in the middle—sometimes mistrusted by both sides—and often shifted allegiances between Crusaders and Muslim powers such as the Ayyubid Sultanate, founded by Saladin, who recaptured Jerusalem in 1187 and invited Muslims, Jews, and Eastern Christians to repopulate the city. Post-Crusades(1291-1516): After the fall of the last Crusader stronghold at Acre in 1291, European influence in the Levant sharply declined. Muslim powers such as the Mamluk Sultanate, and later the Ottoman Empire (beginning in 1516), restored Islamic dominance, and many cities were resettled with Muslims from surrounding regions. Some Christian groups, such as the Maronites in Lebanon, maintained autonomy under Ottoman rule, while Jewish communities slowly reestablished themselves in cities like Safed and Jerusalem Ottoman Empire(1516-1918) New Turks & British-French Mandates Turkey has transformed acknowledges Gazans of Ottoman descent as eligible for citizenship or special residency status. Similar to Israel’s Law of Return, Gazans would be entitled to relocate to Turkey or Turkish-administered areas in Syria. British-French
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