http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\09\26\story_26-9-2011_pg3_6
Monday, September 26, 2011
VIEW: Towards Israel-Palestine unity —Yasser Latif Hamdani
A prosperous Palestine allied with Israel is the only guarantee of Israel's status as a Jewish state. It will also solve the irksome issue of settlements that have plagued all negotiations
How does the world solve an intractable problem such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Sixty-three years later the world is still where Harry S Truman left it. President Obama, who showed so much potential in the beginning, now cuts a pathetic figure — helpless and overcome by events. Too much history and emphasis on competing national narratives have ensured that the solution as envisaged now remains elusive for some time to come.
It is important then to begin at the irreducible minimums claimed by the parties to the conflict. First of all, Israel is here to stay and this is a bitter pill that partisans of Palestine have to swallow. Sixty-three years of determined existence has proved that throwing out Israel is an impossible undertaking. Second, the Israelis are unlikely to give up the Jewish nature of their state, even if practically they are a secular country. Third, Palestinians deserve to have a state of their own. Fourth, this future Palestinian state existing in close proximity to Israel will remain embroiled in a never-ending conflict with Israel. The essential question is how to preserve the first three without allowing the fourth to hijack the Mideast peace process for all times to come.
People have spoken in the past of a one state solution instead of two but the one state solution hits at the heart of Jewish anxiety vis-à-vis the identity of their state. Yet it seems that not enough consideration has been given by the statesmen in either nation to a middle way, i.e. an Israeli-Palestinian confederation where a sovereign Israel and a sovereign Palestine come together for the sake of the defence of their common interests. Jerusalem can be the symbolic capital of this confederation with Tel Aviv and Ramallah taking their places as individual capitals of the two confederating sovereign states. Such an arrangement could even be called an Abrahamic Confederation, seeing as it would create political unity between the three Abrahamic religions.
Defence would have to be, in such a confederation, a mutual responsibility of Israel and Palestine, backed by both a joint defence pact and a no war pact. The Israeli Defence Forces could help train the Palestinians as defenders of their frontiers. In return, peaceful coexistence between Palestine and Israel will ensure economic opportunities for the Palestinian youth and to this end Israel would do well to open the doors of its universities and institutions of higher learning to Palestinians. An educated Palestinian middle class will welcome jobs and opportunities in Israel's corporate sector. A prosperous Palestine allied with Israel is the only guarantee of Israel's status as a Jewish state. It will also solve the irksome issue of settlements that have plagued all negotiations. Palestinians, especially Muslims, have a great example for such a political arrangement. The great Medina Pact negotiated and signed by the Holy Prophet (PBUH) provided for precisely this kind of unity. Article 25 of the said pact made Jews, Muslims and other residents of Medina one ummah (community) for the purposes of defence of Medina.
A mighty Abrahamic Confederation consisting of a sovereign Israel and a sovereign Palestine will not only bring peace to them but will be a pillar of stability and a welcome note of unity in an increasingly divided world. As the Arabs shake off centuries of slumber and take their place as prosperous democratic states of the world, Israel can play a unique role as a democracy that is both modern in form and ancient in spirit in guiding not just its Palestinian neighbours but also the greater Semitic world, i.e. the Arabs. Too many ties of religion, culture and history link Jews and Arabs together. It is time that this historical reality expressed itself not antagonistically but as a protagonist of the great story of the rise of the Middle East in the 21st century. If they succeed, they will set an extraordinary precedent for dispute resolution around the world.
Will an Israel and a Palestine dominated by hawks of Likud and Hamas ever allow such a solution? There is no doubt that the political will to bury the hatchet is entirely absent on both sides. Yet statesmanship demands that politicians on either side put their people before their real and perceived grievances and common good before egos for the betterment of their future generations.
History beckons them to ignore the bitterness that poisoned their narratives and write one together. Will they heed its call?
The writer is a lawyer based in Lahore. He is also a regular contributor to the Indian law website http://mylaw.net and blogs on http//globallegalforum.blogspot.com and http://pakteahouse.net. He can be reached at yasser.hamdani@gmail.com
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