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Dear Reader – please forward to Trump team
Dear Reader,
If you have ties with the Trump team I am asking you to share this message
with the people you know.
I am taking this very unusual measure as I feel that the situation is indeed
critical. There is a window here for doing the right thing and it would be
a tragedy to waste the opportunity.
Thanks for your help!
Best regards,
Dr. Aaron Lerner
Open Letter to President Elect Trump
Dr. Aaron Lerner 28 December 2016
Dear President elect Trump,
You say you want to make a deal between us and the Palestinians.
Great.
So let’s set aside the rhetoric and walk through what a deal should be.
And so in order not to waste your time let’s state up front a simple
principle:
If a sovereign Palestinian state is truly established somewhere our side of
the Jordan River, it would REMAIN a sovereign state even if it grossly and
overtly violated the agreements under which it was established.
John Kerry shared his “wisdom” with us tonight about a “non-militarized”
Palestinian state with”unprecedented, multi-layered border security” blah
blah blah.
So he recognized that a sovereign Palestinian state has to be subject to
restrictions.
BUT IF A SOVEREIGN PALESTINIAN STATE WERE TO TRASH THOSE RESTRICTIONS THEY
WOULD STILL BE A SOVEREIGN STATE.
And when you look at the world today its frankly insulting to the
Palestinians to suggest that they wouldn’t have the savvy to figure out how
to systematically trash these restrictions bolstered by enough international
support to prevent Israel from being able to rectify the situation.
So a sovereign Palestinian state is simply not relevant within the planning
horizon.
What “deal” can be made?
“Maximum Autonomy with Maximum Integration and Maximum Movement”
The key principle of maximum autonomy is that it can’t be readily
unilaterally transformed into a sovereign state. Making it landlocked
within Israel would go a long way towards preventing unilateral sovereignty.
Another restriction would be limits on immigration into the autonomy.
Pouring millions of Arabs into the autonomy would be a certain formula for
undermining the stability of the area.
Maximum integration: Palestinians and Israelis should be able to work and
play in each other’s areas. We’re already making progress in this – adding
tens of thousands of work permits. But that’s the tip of the iceberg,
Under a deal with the Palestinians every Palestinian (with the exception of
those identified as security risks) should be able to work and play in
Israel and the same for Israelis in the autonomy.
To be clear: I mean “work” in the broadest sense of the word. That’s
engage in all forms of commerce. Not just as employees but as
entrepreneurs.
Maximum movement: Not just within the autonomy or even between the autonomy
and sovereign Israel. Under the deal Palestinian passengers should be able
to travel via our airports and seaports with the ease of Israelis (with the
exception of those identified as security risks).
And what about the “settlements”?
Annexation of Area C+ with full Israeli citizenship rights granted to the
Palestinians residing there would serve to dramatically stabilize the
situation after the initial shock.
And if the United States formally recognized the move (along with
recognition of Israeli sovereignty over united Jerusalem and the Golan) it
would stabilize even faster!
Mr. Trump, there is a place for a serious American president to help cut a
workable deal.
A deal for maximum autonomy with maximum integration and maximum movement
may not herald some utopian peace for generations, but it would most
certainly go a long way towards improving everyone’s life in the interim.
________________________________________
IMRA – Independent Media Review and Analysis
Since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on
Arab-Israeli relations
Website: www.imra.org.il
Source: http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=71959
