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What Should Be Israel's Response to the U.S. Peace Plan?

(Fathom Journal-BICOM-UK) Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser - Israel's response to the expected U.S. peace plan will reflect its commitment to seek a peace that guarantees its security and so will probably be "Yes, but." At the same time, Israel will have to: Clarify its red lines, namely, that no lasting peace can be reached without: Palestinian recognition of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people; a security plan that leaves the Jordan Valley under Israeli responsibility and allows the IDF to deal with threats from the West Bank; and ending the hate indoctrination and incitement that inculcate support for terror and commitment to a Palestinian state "from the river to the sea" in Palestinian minds. If the Palestinians reject the plan, Israel together with the U.S. should continue conveying the message that there is a price for Palestinian intransigence. They should seek to convince the Palestinians of the need to accept the existence of a Jewish people that has a sovereign history in this disputed holy land as well as accepting the need to share this land with them. Continue with the current policies vis-a-vis Gaza and the West Bank. These are solid and reasonable policies in light of the complexities of the situation. If the threat from Gaza rises, Israel will have to be prepared to take harsher measures to protect its citizens, including forcing Hamas to give up its control of the Strip. Refrain from moving towards unilateral concessions disguised as "separation" from the Palestinians. This is a dangerous idea as it ignores the Palestinian narrative and may lead to greater Palestinian terror while simultaneously causing higher tensions within Israeli society. The probability that any new government will support such a policy is very low. Moreover, Israel should try to convince the pragmatic Arab states to use the expected Palestinian rejection of the American peace plan as a justification for having closer ties with Israel. This may eventually help in pushing the Palestinians to adopt a more realistic approach towards the peace plan. The writer, former head of the IDF Military Intelligence Research Division, is Director of the Project on Regional Middle East Developments at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
2019-04-09 00:00:00
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