New York Times
The Opinion Pages | Op-Ed Contributor
Peaceful Nonreconciliation Now
MAALE
SHOMRON, West Bank —
JOHN KERRY’S failed Middle East peace effort has
made it clear that a negotiated political agreement is impossible at the
moment. The two-state formula enjoyed decades of exclusive stardom, in
which its appeal thwarted all innovative and alternative thought.
Government
officials in Washington, Brussels and other capitals seem to have no
idea how to proceed or are clinging desperately to a bygone idea.
But despair is not an acceptable policy. There are practical issues that can and should be solved. First and foremost, Palestinians
deserve drastic and immediate improvements in their everyday lives.
Obviously, this is not their main aspiration, but, unlike others, it is
feasible right now. We are engaged in a bitter national conflict with
the Palestinians. But we settlers were never driven — except for fringe
elements — by bigotry, hate or racism.
Israel
must initiate an ambitious and bold plan to improve every aspect of
day-to-day life for Palestinians in Judea and Samaria — commonly
referred to as the West Bank
in these pages. Israelis must let go of the trauma of the Second
Intifada that terrorized them between 2000 and 2005. They can’t go on
living under psychological siege while imposing sweeping, burdensome
restrictions on the Palestinians because of heinous acts of terror
perpetrated a decade ago.
The
security barrier separating Judea and Samaria from the rest of Israel
should ultimately be dismantled and Palestinians should enjoy complete
freedom of movement and be able to re-enter the Israeli job market.
There’s no reason Israel should import thousands of foreign workers
while so many Palestinians among us struggle to earn a living.
Palestinians need to return to Israeli cities, and not only as
blue-collar workers. Palestinian academics should be included in
Israel’s advanced industries: An engineer from Ramallah should be able
to work in Tel Aviv, and a Palestinian doctor treating patients in an
Israeli hospital should not be a rare sight.
Barriers,
checkpoints and military restrictions on movement must be lifted, and
all Jews and Palestinians should be allowed to move freely. Palestinians
should be allowed full entry into Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria and
to cross the Green Line, and vice versa; the gates in the security
barrier could be opened regularly as a preliminary phase before it is
completely dismantled and removed. Palestinian security forces could
continue carrying out the same tasks they do today. And in the absence
of checkpoints, the Israeli Army will have to be more active than it is
now. If violence erupts, this incremental process would be halted or
reversed.
Israel
must also ensure that Palestinians have quick and convenient access to
the international airports of Israel and Jordan and remove the majority
of barriers and delays that currently impede Palestinian imports and
exports entering and leaving the West Bank.
It is not in Israel’s interest to weaken or dissolve the Palestinian Authority
or disrupt day-to-day Palestinian life. That means ending delays in
transferring tax payments to the Authority and striving to promote its
efficient functioning.
Moreover,
the civil administration in charge of Israeli contact with Palestinians
should no longer be run by the Israeli military, but by civilians who
serve the Palestinian civilian population efficiently and courteously. A
50-year-old Palestinian shouldn’t have to deal with soldiers and
officers half his age.
Palestinians
should also be included as full-fledged members of the civil
administration’s planning and building committees that consider
construction in Arab towns. And Palestinian magistrates should be
included in courts that decide on civil disputes, including those
involving land. The law that applies to a 16-year-old Palestinian caught
throwing stones should be the same as the one that applies to a
16-year-old Jew caught throwing stones and any other 16-year old of any
ethnicity committing the same offense inside the Green Line. There is no
practical or moral justification for a different legal policy for
Palestinians and Israelis.
Finally
Israel, in conjunction with the international community, must take
measures to improve the infrastructure for water, sewage,
transportation, education and health with the goal of narrowing the huge
gaps between Israeli and Palestinian societies.
This
also means thoroughly rehabilitating West Bank refugee camps. It’s
unacceptable for fifth-generation Palestinian refugees to continue to
live in abject poverty, which leads to frustration and violence. Camp
residents should be provided with suitable housing, employment, health
care services and education.
There
should be zero tolerance for violence on either side. Just as the
Israeli Army will remain to ensure security, the so-called price tag
attacks perpetrated by Israelis against Palestinians and their property —
to exact a “price” for perceived anti-settlement policies — must be
stopped once and for all.
The
Arab-Israeli territorial dispute is a zero-sum game, but the human
considerations are not. We gain nothing from a Palestinian’s humiliation
or poverty. Improving Palestinians’ quality of life does not conflict
with other proposed endgames like annexation of Judea and Samaria or the
two-state formula. Nor will final-status issues change; Palestinians
will continue to vote in Palestinian Authority elections and Israelis in
Israel’s elections.
It should be clear: This is not a plan for permanent peace but rather a blueprint for peaceful nonreconciliation.
Dani Dayan is a former chairman of the Yesha Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria.
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