# davidf
Between 1948-1967 there was ample time and opportunity to create a new Arab state between Jordan and Israel. Neither Jordan, Egypt, the Arab residents of the West Bank and Gaza or the Arab League ever contemplated creating such a state for the 19 years that not one Jew lived there.

The expectation that such an additional Arab state - in addition to Jordan - can be created in 2009 in 100% of the West Bank and Gaza is pie in the sky.

#Jeremy

Actually Transjordan was the land that is today called Jordan - 77% of former Palestine. It was granted independence in 1946 - one year before the UN Partition Plan you refer to. The Partition Plan only dealt with the remaining 23% of Palestine which the Jews accepted but the Arabs rejected.

I am not asserting that international law gives the Jews the right to the entirety of Palestine. They at present have 17% and under my proposal would end up with approximately 20% and the Arabs with 80%.

# mikk

The West Bank presently belongs to no one - Jews or Arabs. It is no man's land. Israel has no borders - only armistice lines. Resolution 242 makes it clear these will not be the boundaries of Israel when sovereignty in the West Bank is finally decided.

Israel stands ready to negotiate on compensation but you must realise this is a two way street and Jews driven from Arab countries will need to be compensated as well.

Under my proposal no one needs to kick anyone out,no one needs to leave their current homes,no one needs to tell anyone what to believe or not to believe.

Please try and temper your language. It does you no credit.

#Philip Tang

Denigrating Islam will not bring about a resolution to the conflict between Arabs and Jews. Each group needs to recognise the others right to exist. The Moslems have 57 Islamic States world wide. It beggars belief they cannot accept the existence of one Jewish State on an area of land one third the size of Tasmania

David

The only thing I would say to you is that often fiction is stronger than reality. The realistic proposal of John Bolton's proposal of a three-state solution will not be accepted by those who have by now a strong 'fictional' attachment for a Palestinian state, that is, by the Palestinians themselves. That is why, in my opinion, the only practical feasible solution is a two-state solution, as I mentioned in my previous post, on the two conditions delineated by Netanyahu.

http://con.observationdeck.org

#Themistocles

Thank you for your thoughtful contributions.

Fiction will have to give way to reality in the end if the Arab residents of the West Bank and Gaza are to have any sort of shared future with their Arab brethren as existed between 1948-1967. A return to the position then attaining is the optimum result that can be achieved.

The two state solution won't happen because the parties are incapable of reaching a mutually agreed settlement based on such a proposal. The last 16 years trying to reach such a settlement and getting absolutely nowhere indicate how far the disputants still remain apart.

The sooner the two state solution is abandoned and negotiations started between Israel, Jordan and Egypt to allocate sovereignty in the West Bank and Gaza between those three states the sooner the prospects of a resolution of the 120 years old conflict between Jews and Arabs becomes a possibility

Dear David,

I would like to see a one state solution. I would like to see a state where there is separation of religion and state and also civil marriage. I would like to see a state where all people practice whatever religion they want, and whatever they want is absolutely no business of the government.

In Israel there is only one school where Arab children and Jewish children go to school together. That builds up hatreds as the racially segregated schools in the US did before they were abolished by court action.

I think it is impossible for a state to be both Jewish and Democratic. If Australia became a Christian state rather than a state where Christians are a majority I would become a second class citizen as I am a Jew. Since I would not accept a Christian state in Australia I cannot in good conscience accept a Jewish state in Israel.

The Holocaust was a tragedy. It added to that tragedy that some Jewish refugees before the war and some survivors of the Holocaust can find a home nowhere. Israel offered that home, but I can see no future but continued strife as long as there is an attempt to keep a Jewish state in a hostile area. Actually I think Israel can do it. However, it will be at the cost of being a garrison state - a militarised nation in what I think of as Jewish values will disappear.

The hatreds built up are difficult to contain, but I see little hope in two states or three states.

You wrote about the Arab residents of the West Bank and Gaza having a shared future with their Arab brethren. I would like to see both Jews and Arabs have a future with each other. The Arabs are our brethren. We are their brethren.

"The West Bank presently belongs to no one - Jews or Arabs. It is no man's land."

What a load of rubbish. Tell that to the people who live there. Tell it to the settlers and their "facts on the ground". This truly shows your inhumanity and arrogance.

"Israel has no borders - only armistice lines."

Why does Israel have no borders? Because the borders they want would involve ethnic cleansing and more theft and they naturally dont want to admit this.

"Resolution 242 makes it clear these will not be the boundaries of Israel when sovereignty in the West Bank is finally decided."

It does not. Its actual words are "Withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict;". Since before the conflict every one agrees the so called green line was Israels border the meaning of res 242 could not be more clear. Get out of the occupied territories and stay inside your recognised borders.

"Israel stands ready to negotiate on compensation but you must realise this is a two way street and Jews driven from Arab countries will need to be compensated as well."

Fair enough.

"Under my proposal no one needs to kick anyone out,no one needs to leave their current homes,no one needs to tell anyone what to believe or not to believe."

You seriously expect anyone to believe that after the Israeli record in the past 60 years? They are currently driving arabs out of jerusalem and demolishing their houses. Settlers regularly harrass palestinians and vandalise their farms and houses. Not to mention the military attacks, the checkpoints, the siege, the wall, the assassinations, house demolitions, bulldozers and the whole overpowered Israeli Political/religious/military complex.

I like David f's idea.

# davidf

The one state solution is an unattainable political goal that simply cannot ever be reached by negotiations.

There is more than one school in Israel that is attended by both Jews and Arabs. I do not know where you got your information from but it is wrong.

Israel is both Jewish and democratic and has been so since its creation.

Partition of the land and separation of the Arab and Jewish populations has been seen as the only solution since 1937. The Arabs have failed at every opportunity presented to them since then to resolve the conflict on that basis. That is their perfect right but it has brought them nothing but tragedy and suffering.

#mikk

The West Bank is "no man's land" because no one - Jews or Arabs - currently exercises legal sovereignty over the area.The last legally recognized sovereign owner was Great Britain as the Mandatory Authority under the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine.

Israel has no borders - only armistice lines - because the Arab League refused to negotiate final status agreements after the 1948 War and has refused to do so ever since. The Arab League is yet to recognize Israel although two of its members have - Jordan and Egypt.

Your interpretation of Resolution 242 does not accord with that of the drafters of the resolution. Israel is not required to withdraw from all the territory lost by the Arabs in the Six Day War - and will not do so as successive Israeli Prime Ministers have made abundantly clear.

I am glad we can agree on the compensation issue. That is real progress. Unfortunately I don't believe there is one Arab leader who would agree with us. Therein lies the problem.

I repeat - not one Arab or Jew will have to leave his home under my proposals. Drawing an internationally recognized border between Israel and Jordan will achieve the realistically attainable two state solution - Israel sovereign in about 20% of former Palestine and Jordan sovereign in about 80% of former Palestine.