Letter to President Biden for a Palestinian State
(sent 2/2/2024)
Dear Mr. President;
The Israeli Government is creating an unstable environment in the Middle East by alienating friendly Arab and Muslim states by not committing to a demilitarized Palestinian state with self-rule. We need a broad alliance to keep peace in the Mideast while preventing our US troops from dying due to Netanyahu's destructive actions. My son-in-law is being deployed to the Mideast from the Illinois National Guard into active duty on January 27th and I am sadden by the death of the three soldiers.
It is about time the US, UK, Canada, Australia, EU, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and UAE to jointly recognize a demilitarized Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders except for the old city of Jerusalem (Jerusalem, Jordan city boundary as of 1966). The areas within the 1966 municipal boundary of Jerusalem, Jordan will be settled through negotiations.
The Gaza War shall cease with US, Egyptian, and UN troops overseeing Gaza for three years and the West Bank will have US, Jordanian, and UN troops for three years. During this time period Palestinian society will be rebuilt along with fair and free elections.
My Modified Two State Solution can be found at http:// mideastpeaceplan.blogspot.com
Respectfully Yours;
Jon Dolen
CC: Letter Sent to select Knesset members, US Senate Staffers on the Committee of Foreign Relations, Embassies in Washington DC: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, Jordan, Vatican, Turkey, Qatar, and US Palestinian Affairs Office
Link to original Modified Two State Solution Post (posted March 1, 2023)
I grant anyone the right to use these ideas to foster peace regarding the Israeli Palestinian conflict. I ask the readers of this Peace Plan to think outside of the box and develop their own ideas that I may not have even considered and provide a better solution and share with others who seek peace regarding this conflict. We need more voices about possible conflict resolutions to this problem. More is better!
The peace process can never start unless we initially address three items.
1. The Palestinian Authority (PA) recognizes Israel but refuses to recognize it as a Jewish state. The PA must recognize Israel as a Jewish state because Israel views the Palestinians and the PA as an entity seeking the destruction of the Jewish state. The PA must recognize Israel as a Jewish state within the pre-1967 borders of Israel. The areas within the 1966 municipal boundary of Jerusalem, Jordan will be settled through negotiations. The expansion of the city limits of eastern Jerusalem in the West Bank after the 1967 war by Israel should be the capital of Palestine.
2. The right of return will not be allowed based on item #1 of Israel being a Jewish State. Thus, the Israeli government should immediately cease building any new settlements in the West Bank and quit destroying Palestinian homes or evicting Palestinians. If the Israeli government wants to deny the Palestinians the "right of return" to Israel regarding property once owned by Palestinians and confiscated by Israel, then the Israelis have no right to seize property occupied by Palestinians in the West Bank no matter what claim Israel has on such land. The Israeli position is not fair nor equitable which prevents a resolution to this conflict.
3. The PA must quit the "pay to slay" for terrorist activities so that peace negotiations can resume between the two parties. I don't advocate such violence but there have been numerous times in history when a weaker party in a conflict resorts to such terrorist tactics. We see that during the last few years of the British Mandate in Palestine that Menachem Begin (later to become prime minister of Israel) participated in terrorist activities that killed innocent people and that the British government put a hefty bounty on his head. So when the Israelis accuse the Palestinians of doing terrorist activities, the Jews did the same thing when they were seeking their independence. The violence on both sides must cease.
As an American, I have to say that following B'Tselem has opened my eyes regarding this conflict. The US is big supporter of Israel but I believe that most US citizens do not have a full understanding of this conflict which has enabled the US government to allow Israel carte blanche actions in dealing with this conflict with no consequences. This needs to change. Of course I differ with B'Tselem when they use the word "apartheid" to describe this conflict which initially stems from the Palestinians and the PA refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state which implies the Palestinians desire for the destruction of such Jewish state. This is just an outright conflict between two peoples wanting the worse for each other which needs to stop. Both Israeli and Palestinian people need to recognize the right of both nations and peoples to exist.
Modified Two State Solution
Peace based on a Modified Two State Solution regarding voting rights for all people. Creation of a bi-national entity known as the United Nations of Jerusalem (UNJ) of a Jewish and Muslim state. A Jewish State of Israel within the pre-1967 borders and the Golan Heights. An Islamic State of Palestine in Gaza and the West Bank. Then a shared entity would be the 1966 municipal city limits of Jerusalem, Jordan which would be known as Jerusalem, UNJ. So there would be three Jerusalem entities. One in Israel (city west of the pre-1967 border), Palestine (expanded eastern city after the 1967 war), and the UNJ (municipal city boundary of Jerusalem, Jordan as of 1966).
Per the UNJ treaty, every person (Christian, Druze, Muslim, or Jew) residing in Israel, West Bank, Gaza, Golan Heights, and Jerusalem UNJ will vote for Israeli Knesset members who must be Jewish or a non-Jew who swears allegiance to the Jewish State of Israel, and will vote of Palestinian Parliament members who must be Muslim or a non-Muslim who swears allegiance to the Islamic State of Palestine. Every person regardless of religion will be granted the right to vote in both legislative elections in the UNJ but will be subject to the laws of the sovereign state they reside in. The sovereign Jewish State of Israel will administer laws and security within Israel and the Golan Heights. The sovereign Islamic State of Palestine will administer security and laws with Gaza and the West Bank.
This dual voting arrangement will secure peace among Jews and Muslims and will reduce the aspect of extremist who inflame this conflict from holding power. Jewish voters are not going to place Hamas extremist in a Palestinian Parliament. Likewise, Muslim voters are not going to place Israeli politicians in the Knesset who suppress Muslim rights.
The new Palestinian state will follow the Israeli model of government structure and voting for representatives based on a nationwide proportional representation. The Islamic State of Palestine will be a demilitarized state with the Jewish State of Israel overseeing the external defense of Israel, Palestine, and UNJ. Accordingly, Israel will maintain defense bases in the Jordan River Valley.
In the dual voting system within the UNJ there will be an allocation based on two blocks of seats within a 120 seat Israeli Knesset or 120 seat Palestinian Parliament.
Israeli Knesset
(120 seats selected by the D'Hondt Voting Method by two voting blocks)
Block One: 80 seats voted on by Jews or non-Jews who pledge allegiance to the Jewish state
Block Two: 40 seats voted on by non-Jews
This will keep the Jewish flavor of the Knesset while being respectful of Muslims, Christians, and Druzes. All 120 Knesset members must be Jewish or non-Jews who swear allegiance to the Jewish state of Israel.
Palestinian Parliament
(120 seats selected by the D'Hondt Voting Method by two voting blocks)
Block One: 80 seats voted on by Muslims or non-Muslims who pledge allegiance to the Islamic state
Block Two: 40 seats voted on by non-Muslims
This will keep the Islamic flavor of the Parliament while being respectful of Jews, Christians, and Druzes. All 120 Parliament members must be Muslim or non-Muslims who swear allegiance to the Islamic state of Palestine.
This voting system will create an environment where both sides need to respect each other to get votes while reducing the aspect of extremist who inflame this conflict from holding power.
The general election regarding the two blocks of seats should require a minimum 5% threshold per block to qualify for seats in the Knesset or Parliament. Before the general election there should be a primary election within each respective nation with its own religious group or individuals pledging allegiance to such nation to determine parties qualifying to participate in the general election. A primary election is needed to prevent a small radical party within a nation that doesn't have much support from its own people from receiving undue political influence or support from the other nation in the general election. Per the primary, qualifying parties must meet the 5% threshold to participate in the general election. A qualifying party that meets the 5% threshold but is under the 10% threshold may be denied participation in the general election if two or more qualifying political parties that have over 50% in that nation's primary election determine that such party (under the 10% threshold) should not participate in the general election. Any party that meets the 10% threshold is allowed full participation in the general election.
The above seat allocation where the 80 seats will vote for religious matters within that respective state affecting only people of that religion and can not infringe on other different religions. The 120 seats in the legislature would select the prime minister and other ministers along with voting for legislation. Finally, the 80 seats would vote exclusively for the President of that respective nation who represents the religious values of such nation.
As for Jerusalem, UNJ (land within the 1966 municipal city boundaries of Jerusalem, Jordan) each national President will rule over the shared city along with an individual (called the Governor of Jerusalem) appointed by the Pope in Rome with approval by both Israeli and Palestinian Prime Ministers. Thus, we would have three individuals (President of Israel, President of Palestine, and the Governor of Jerusalem) ruling as an executive tribunal. The security of Jerusalem, UNJ will be maintained by the IDF with UN observers.
The UNJ will operate as a Confederation
This dual voting mechanism in the UNJ for both states creates a perfect environment for removing extremists and promotes cooperation necessary for a confederation. The UNJ Confederation would be use for;
Jerusalem
Security for Israel and Palestine
Normalization of Relations
Economic Ties
Freedom of the Press (To ensure this is allowed in Palestine)
Democracy (Oversee free and fair elections in both states)
Water Rights
Items developed by the Confederation will be presented to both Israeli Knesset and Palestinian Parliament for ratification.
Israel needs peace with the Palestinians to promote greater cooperation with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and UAE in creating a stronger military alliance against Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah as a deterrent against future violence. This peace plan will make Israeli relationship with these friendly Arab nations even stronger.
In this peace plan the Palestinian state would initially be demilitarized. As peace further develops the nation of Palestine may be able to have its own defense force in the future. For the present time, there should be a creation of a Palestinian Foreign Legion in which such force would operate in Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE in which the legion would be under the ultimate control of the nation it is operating in. This Palestinian Foreign Legion would create jobs, money, and skills for unemployed Palestinian men and give them a purpose while providing funds for the Palestinian government.
Finally, I hear of Jewish politicians state we must separate from the Palestinians. Basically, they are stating we must have segregation just like the Americans did with black people long ago which created a social economic problem in the US. Just imagine Palestinians isolated in the West Bank with inadequate resources and little water. Eventually, such environment is going to cause suffering which will create conflict again. Both sides can mutually benefit from one another if they respect one another.
The United States has been an enabler of bad behavior on both sides and needs to resolve this conflict in a two step approach. First step, stop providing US funds to the PA until they recognize Israel as a Jewish State within the pre-1967 borders and agree to a peace process. Second step, if the Palestinians agree to recognize Israel as a Jewish State, then the US will use its funds or lack of funds to Israel in soliciting better behavior from the Jewish nation regarding the peace process and give the Palestinians a state. Both parties are incapable of achieving peace and need forceful guidance from the USA. It is amazing how money and US military support can influence better behavior.
I do believe there should be reparations to Palestinians and their descendants who were forced off Israeli land (pre-1967) and live in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring Arab states in the form of a trust fund supervised and funded by the US, UK, and EU for Palestinian retirement/disability. Israel can directly compensate Palestinians for land taken from such Palestinians in the West Bank.
Anyone is allowed to use these ideas to develop a better peace plan.
Respectfully;
Jon Dolen
http:// mideastpeaceplan.blogspot.com
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