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Israeli-Palestinian confederation: why and how

By Alon Ben-Meir - posted Monday, 14 December 2020


Although the solution to the Palestinian refugee issue is not directly related to the confederation, there will be no solution to the conflict until this nagging issue is settled. It is time for the Palestinians to disabuse themselves of the notion of the right of return as the Palestinians currently envision it. From previous negotiations, going back to 1967, Israel made it abundantly clear and the PA understood that under no circumstances will Israel allow the return of any significant number of refugees into the State of Israel other than a symbolic few thousand under family reunification, as this would obliterate the Jewish national character of the state.

Nevertheless, the problem is that Palestinian leaders have consistently and publicly been promoting the right of return, regardless of how illusory it may be. The right of return was the glue that kept all Palestinians "united," which their leaders exploited to serve their own political agenda, even though they knew only too well that the right of return, as they described it, would never be realized.

Instead, the Palestinians must redefine the right of return-not to the exact towns and villages (and in some claims, exact homes) from which they and their ancestors fled, but to a return to the State of Palestine in general, which is in line with the international legal principle of right of return, which grants this return to "one's own country."

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The solution to the refugee issue rests, as it always has, on compensation and/or resettlement. Saudi Arabia and Germany, as leaders of the Arab states and the EU respectively, as well as the US should embark on raising an initial $15 billion to begin the process of resettlement, mostly in the West Bank, and offer compensation for those who do not choose to relocate, be they in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, or beyond.

As for Gaza, given Hamas' longstanding opposition to the State of Israel, it will not have any impact on this arrangement. If a confederation between Israel and the Palestinians of the West Bank is established, Gaza could eventually join as a third party if it chooses to participate, not necessarily as part of the Palestinian state located in the West Bank.

Given the fact that Israelis and Palestinians have been estranged from one another, especially since the Second Intifada in 2000, and are profoundly distrustful of one another, the creation of a confederation should evolve parallel to a process of reconciliation over a period of 8 to 10 years. During this period, the focus should be on the development of people-to-people interactions in just about every sphere of life-social, political, cultural, and economic-to foster trust, while taking every step possible to avoid provocation by either side.

Israelis and Palestinians must remember that they have been ordained to coexist in one form or another. There is nothing that either side can do to change this reality. The interdispersement of their population, the impossibility of building hard borders, the future of Jerusalem, and their national security all require them to make significant concessions and fully collaborate to realize the concept of confederation, while safeguarding the independence and the territorial integrity of their respective states.

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About the Author

Dr. Alon Ben-Meir is a professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at NYU. He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies.

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