ISRAEL-PALESTINE DISPUTE : IS THERE A WAY OUT?
As the whole world heaves a sigh of relief, albeit with fingers crossed, with the Egyptian brokered ceasefire coming into effect at 2 am on Friday 21 May 2021, and ending the devastating 11 day conflict, that saw more than 240 fatalities most of them civilian, the question uppermost on everyone’s mind is if this respite is enough to see a permanent truce and the end to the conflict. The conundrum and the antagonism that has led to this dispute is the unshakeable belief by both the Israelis and the Palestinians that they are the rightful owners of the lands on which and for which they are fighting.
Without going into the genesis of the dispute it is worth recollecting that much headway has been made on the path to peace, keeping in mind that situation in 1948. Starting with the first Camp David Accord in 1978 between Israel and Egypt which resulted in Egypt granting full recognition to the State of Israel in return for the Sinai Peninsula to the Abraham Accords of 2020, much water has flown under the bridge. In between, the Oslo Accord of 1993, resulting in the much publicised Camp David Accord of 1993 promised a two state solution which at the last minute failed mainly on the ground that Israel refused the right to return of all displaced Palestinians.
With most Arab countries grudgingly accepting the existence of the State of Israel, (with back channel diplomacy active to get Saudi Arabia too on board), the main parties in the dispute, besides the Israelis and the Palestinians are the Iranians. Iran is implacably hostile to Israel and to a large extent to Saudi Arabia too. Iran is known to fund and support Hamas in the same way as it funds and supports the Hezbollah in Lebanon. Violence has been the rule rather than the exception since the first ‘intifada’ in 1987 with brief lulls in between. So is there a solution to end this never ending cycle of violence? There possibly is and it is perhaps as ‘out of the box’ as it can get.
Briefly, before the 1967 war, the West Bank was a part of the Kingdom of Jordan from 1948 onwards. Jordan eventually relinquished all claims on the West Bank in 1988 and even deprived the Palestinians of their Jordanian citizenship. The Gaza strip has had a more convoluted history and was occupied by Egypt till 1967 when it was captured along with the Sinai Peninsula by Israel. Subsequently as a result of the Israel-Egypt Peace Accord, Egypt relinquished all claims on Gaza, agreed to keep the Sinai Peninsula de-militarised and created a small buffer zone between it and the southern border of Gaza. In 1994, as a result of the Oslo Accords, Gaza came under the control of the Palestinian Authority. Since 2007 however, it is completely under control of the Hamas which views the Palestinian Authority now called Fatah with contempt and is implacably opposed to it. In 2005, Israel withdrew unilaterally from Gaza, its military as well as its settlements. After ousting the Fatah, the Hamas took complete control in 2007.
The situation today is that the Palestinians remain hopeful of regaining the West Bank without Israeli settlements and of restoration of peace in the Gaza strip with the ultimate aim of the establishment of a full fledged Palestinian State. For this to happen albeit with Israel’s grudging acceptance, a new paradigm has to evolve. Having the same belligerents talking to each other again through well meaning intermediaries is not going to yield any result. All that will come of it will be more of the same.
Hence, as a forerunner to an eventual Palestinian state, given the current impasse’, and to forestall further bloodshed, there exists a strong case for Jordan to reclaim the West Bank and for Egypt to reclaim the Gaza strip with of course, Palestinian assent. Both Jordan and Egypt have good diplomatic relations with Israel. Both countries have the trust of the Palestinians. If they are sovereign owners of the land, their locus standi improves vastly compared to them being just honest brokers. Their ownership and control of the territories will bestow upon them the necessary authority to deal with Israel on equal terms and not as supplicants as is happening now with the Fatah. Once these lands become their sovereign territories, the issue of settlements on the West Bank can be taken up by and by. It must be reiterated that Israel withdrew its settlements in Gaza. The issue of settlements in the West Bank is not set in stone. The Hamas on the Gaza strip can be de-fanged.
Such a proposal it is felt would have the backing of all Arab countries. Iran too can be brought on board. Without Iran’s support, the Hamas cannot be the disruptive force that it is today. Subsequently after peace is established, both Jordan and Egypt can relinquish their claims on the West Bank and Gaza respectively to pave the way for the establishment of a full fledged sovereign Palestine. This idea may seem harebrained at first. It is however predicated on the fact that the belligerents want a just and durable peace with an end to violence and the desire for wanting peace is not as harebrained as remaining in a perpetual state of conflict and suffering.
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