Those who have read my recent posts should be convinced that peace in historic Palestine requires a Palestinian state. Israel is no more secure without such a state than we would be if we tried to protect ourselves from the corruption and drug cartels in Mexico by invading Mexico, denying their sovereignty, and controlling their borders.
But there are many differences. When we absorbed half of Mexico in the 1840s, we didn’t expel Mexicans. And although Mexico jeopardizes our security regarding migration and drugs, there’s no danger of invasion.
In light of the October 7 invasion, Israelis are justifiable worried about a Palestinian state that may promote terrorism, and few settlers are willing to abandon their homes and industries on the West Bank. So, it seems that a Palestinian state is both required and impossible. But a Holy Land Confederation (HLC) can make it possible. It would join the states of Israel and Palestine in a way similar to the way arrangement in the European Union (EU). Here’s an outline.
The more-that-400,000 settlers on the West Bank need not move. Those living close to the border could have their land incorporated into Israel. Palestinians would gain land 1-for-1 in equally desirable territory that is currently Israeli. The nearly 200,000 settlers farther from the border can keep their homes and industries, as well as their Israeli citizenship, while living in Palestine under Palestinian law if they so choose.
Approximately 726,000 Palestinians were chased out of Israel in 1948. They and their descendants now number 5.5 million and live primarily in Gaza, Jordan, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Syria. Israel, with a population of fewer than 8 million Jews, is understandably reluctant to allow all these people to resettle in their country. So, the HLC would allow only a number to settle in Israel (as permanent residents but Palestinian citizens) that matches the number of Israeli settlers who choose to continue living in the new Palestinian state. Those expelled in 1948 and their immediate descendants would be given priority.
All Palestinians would have the right to live in the Palestinian state. Some may choose to stay where they currently live. In any case, cooperating host countries would receive internationally provided and monitored compensation for assimilating, educating, and incorporating refugees. Arab states helping Palestinians would compensate for their past practice of perpetuating refugee dependence. Israel, too, would pay reparations to refugees and their descendants with the goal of their full participation in their local economies wherever they choose to live.
Each state would be responsible for internal security. External security of the Confederation would rest on the two states working cooperatively. Due to the power difference between Israel and Palestine, third-party states will participate as well in the Confederation’s external security, providing security guarantees to both sides. Eventually, third-party states will not be needed. But Israel will continue to have troops on the western border of Palestine, which should alleviate some Israeli concerns about external security.
Gaza would be part of the Palestinian State, so a corridor between the West Bank, over which Israel would retain sovereignty, would be established to facilitate uninhibited travel between the two parts of Palestine.
East Jerusalem would be the capital of Palestine and West Jerusalem the capital of Israel. Because Jerusalem is a single municipality, however, coordination between the two states’ separate municipal authorities would be needed continuously regarding such matters as crime control, sewage, water, and access of all parties to internationally significant religious sites.
Because the infrastructure of East Jerusalem is the much less developed of the two, Israeli and international donors will be needed for some time to develop an infrastructure in the East that is necessary for economic development and human welfare. As with other matters, this development must be coordinated between the two entities.
Now that invasion by Jordan and Egypt is unrealistic, security in Israel should concentrate on controlling terrorism. Freedom of movement by Palestinians in Jerusalem and beyond may cause fear among many Israelis. But terrorists are recruited primarily from disaffected people, especially young men, who lack opportunities for social and economic success. Economic development in Palestine will drain the pool of terrorists in the long run.
As should be apparent from the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution, the British occupation of historic Palestine, the Algerian War, the War in Vietnam, etc., oppression promotes terrorism. Where the sense of oppression diminishes, so does terrorism. Terrorism is common in much of Central America today, but not in economically-developing Costa Rica. Nevertheless, cooperation between Palestine and Israel will be needed to suppress terrorism without restricting the free movement of whole populations.
The HLC plan may seem impossible today but, as Israel’s founder and first prime minister David Ben-Gurion said: “The difficult we do first; the impossible takes a little longer.”
Σχόλια