Palestinian-Israeli Peace Process

Not every plan for a settlement is a peace plan. Some initiatives were intended to serve only as a basis for a peace plan or a method of arriving at a peace plan, but were not complete solutions and were not intended to be viewed as such.

The majority of initiatives are based on either the binational state model or the two-state solution. The binational state model, first formally presented by the Anglo-American Commission in 1946, envisioned a democratic one-state system open to members of both communities. It failed to garner the support of the Palestinian leadership or Arab states, however. Since then, progressive thinkers and many among the Palestinian intelligentsia have called for a revival of the binational state model.

The two-state solution, formally outlined in United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 (1947), called for the creation of two sovereign states in Palestine, one Jewish and one Arab. This proposal has become the prevailing model and serves as the basis for the present Palestinian- Israeli peace process.

Thus far, no proposal based on either of these two models has proved acceptable to both sides for the fundamental issue of peace goes beyond the well-known issues of borders, security, arms control, right of return, compensation, Jerusalem, and water. Fundamentally, there can be no reasonable expectation of peace without reconciliation between the two communities. This in part may require the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission, payment of compensation, and other mechanisms that are usually addressed in the context of confidence­building measures. Surprisingly, however, throughout the lengthy history of negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis, issues ofjustice, truth, and reconciliation have seldom been addressed. There is a lack of articulation of a vision of the future that is likely to provide a common basis of hope for the two communities’ future co-existence. There is no doubt that without a final status peace agreement between the State of Israel and the putative State of Palestine, instability will continue to prevail in the region with significant impact beyond the region.

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