Ever since I was a child, I remember the heart and spirit of the Palestinian Revolution was to create a "secular independent Palestinian State where Muslims, Christians and Jews" could live together as equals and in peace.

It was a mantra of my mentor, the late Professor Ibrahim Abu-Lughod who was an activist partner with the late Edward Said. Christian and Muslim Arabs fought for Palestine as indistinguishable brothers and sisters in conflict, they taught me. But now that they are gone, their lessons are being lost.

Both the conflict and attitudes have changed. Raising the issue of Christian rights in the Arab World provokes a reprimand from Palestinians and Arabs, not because the simmering Christian-Muslim Arab conflict does not exist, but rather because the critics hope that if we pretend it doesn't exist and not discuss it, it will go away.

That's been the Arab attitude towards Israel, too. If we just pretend they don't exist, one day they will mysteriously vanish.

Instead, when the issue of Christian relations in the Arab World is raised and overcomes the resistance, it is placed immediately into the political context of the abuses of the Israeli occupation causing the disappearance of the Christian presence in Palestine.

But it is not just the fault of the Israelis, whom the Arabs blame for everything; although in truth, the Israelis are no different and they blame the Arabs for everything, too. The issues of blame are symptoms of the problem, not the cause of the problem. So is the simmering relations between Muslims and Christian Arabs.

That's one reason why I announced I have formed an exploratory committee for my candidacy for President of Palestine on the Yalla Peace political party. My platform embraces compromise based on two-states as the foundation for Israeli-Palestinian peace. More importantly, my platform seeks to define and endorse an achievable vision of a Palestinian State first before seeking to resolve the toughest individual details.

Since announcing and defining my platform (offered in detail on my political party web page www.YallaPeace.com), I have faced two challenges. The first challenge is to revitalize the hope for peace and the belief in peace that I know is buried deep in the recesses of Palestinian and Israeli conscience, but that has wavered in the past two decades because of the failure of the Olso Peace process and the increased violence.

There is skepticism that two-states can be achieved through peaceful negotiations. Palestinians do not believe Israelis want peace and are satisfied to have a quasi-conflict where they dominate all of the issues at stake from land to sovereignty. Israelis do not believe Palestinians want peace and see most peace movements as disingenuous half-steps towards Israel's eventually destruction.

What I propose is to change in how we address peace. Instead of seeking to resolve individually the three most difficult obstacles to peace, the refugees, the settlements and Jerusalem, I propose defining a final peace accord based on principles and vision, and then return in an environment of peace to address the difficult details.

The details are difficult only because Palestinians and Israelis do not trust each other. They can't resolve the issue of sharing Jerusalem, addressing the rights of the Palestinian refugees with compassion, or agreeing to a sharing of Jerusalem because they don't trust each other. But more importantly, they can't compromise on one issue believing that other issues will not be resolved. The issues are interrelated and can't be resolved individually and they can't be resolved outside of an existing peaceful coexistence.

My solution is to create a peace based on two states and fundamental principles that can be worked out, and also adding creative strategies to address the most complex challenges. I will be announcing later this week a proposal called the Settler-Refugee Exchange Plan which has never before been explored or discussed. It's one of many new, creative strategies to overcome the obstacles of the past.

Yet, in the response to the proposals I have outlined over the past two weeks, one issue surfaces above all others. It is the issue of my religion. I am a Christian Palestinian, Israelis and Palestinian Muslims argue, and therefore I do not represent the Palestinian conscience nor am I a genuine part of the equation. My Christianity is being used to set me apart.

Another aspect is that my wife, Alison, is Jewish, a criticism that I am dumbfounded to comprehend. How can Palestinians, including those who support the so-called "one-state" agenda declaring that their goal is a state where Muslims, Christians and Jews can live together in peace, point to my marriage to a Jew as a problem? Abu-Lughod's wife is Jewish and there are many examples of Palestinians marrying Jews because we are inherently the same people. Yet, in today's world, religion has become a point at which my proposals for peace have been rejected.

There can be no Palestinian State if Palestinians can't cleanse themselves of the growing Muslim-Christian divide. And if we can't resolve that conflict, then we will never have a Palestinian State.

There is a fundamental change in the dynamics of the conflict which has seen the emphasis move measurably from one of achieving a secular goal to a religious aspect that has by default excluded Christian Arabs from participating in defining Palestine's future.

If that is allowed to continue, we risk failure. Failure in the choice of peaceful negotiations as a choice and failure even in the undesirable but possibly only future alternative to peace, continued conflict and violence.

If the Palestinian State is not truly Christian and Muslim, then the concept of a state of Palestine, one-state or two-states, can never exist.

I believe that a Palestinian state is possible through compromise if we break free from the bondages of blame, retribution and rejection. We must pursue new, creative solutions to the longstanding conflicts that imprison both our peoples.

That is why I am running for President of Palestine. Although I know my chances of winning are difficult, I believe that my campaign will force our people to overcome our own internal obstacles in order to become a stronger people. And as a stronger people, we will see the creation of a Palestinian State.

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