Howdy. Found this post from a link you posted in Freddie deBoer's comments.
I think this is a good and measured analysis but I will quibble with your statement that "neither side" (i.e. neither Israelis nor Palestinians) are interested in such a deal. The majority of Israelis would absolutely take such a deal - if true security could be guaranteed. Israel offered this deal over and over for about 30 years. Egypt took the deal in the 80s and there's been a cold peace ever since (in a nutshell: Israel captured the Sinai peninsula in 1967, built settlements there, and then dismantled the settlements to make the deal with Egypt).
The Palestinians have refused the deal every time because they won't agree to the conditions you outlined (whether it's demilitarization, relinquishing refugee status/land claims, or other issues like the status of Jerusalem - which is a very touchy subject for Israelis but even that has been put on the table).
Now, post-Oct 7, I don't know if you'd find a majority of Israelis in favor of this anymore. Not necessarily because their ideology has changed (although for some it has), but because they're much more skeptical about ensuring Israel's security if Israel were to withdraw from any significant portion of the West Bank.
"It likely requires the U.S threatening to cut off off aid and even imposing sanctions against Israel"
This would actually be counterproductive because again, the Palestinians are the ones refusing to compromise, and seeing pressure put on Israel would actually give them more incentive to hold out. I think Americans intuitively look to pressure Israel for 2 reasons:
1. Israel is a Western-style democracy and America feels it has more of a common language and can persuade Israel to see things in the same light.
2. Israel is the more powerful party (economically, militarily), and it just feels wrong to pressure the weaker party in a negotiation - even if the weaker party is being unreasonable and has shown no willingness to move the negotiation forward.
This second point I think is what lies at the root of FdB's frankly loony perspective on Israel/Palestine - he is a Marxist, sees everything through the lens of power, and cannot conceive of a situation where the weaker party actually has the agency (and responsibility) to solve its grievances with the stronger party without tearing down the whole system.
Great article. Sadly, the can cannot continue to be kicked down the road regarding the Palestine-Israel problem, what you propose is what makes the most sense, now the difficult part is that there doesnt seem to be interested parties (or at least commited) in seeing that solution happen and that is probably the saddest part of it, because, eventually, you run either of road or can to continue kicking. All the best and thanks for the essay.
Thanks James. The only (very faint) silver lining in all of this is that hopefully both sides will realize that, in your words, the time for can kicking is over.
I'm curious as to why it will be your only post. Do you write somewhere else? Or are you like me, a person who is curious, cares about humanity, and wants to remain informed?
I'm generally more of a reader than writer. Also, I'm a slow writer and between work and family, don't have a lot of time, so I wouldn't be able to post on a regular basis which I think is necessary for a newsletter. So this was probably just a one time thing to help me process my thoughts about what is happening in Israel. But thanks for the kind words. Much appreciated!
Howdy. Found this post from a link you posted in Freddie deBoer's comments.
I think this is a good and measured analysis but I will quibble with your statement that "neither side" (i.e. neither Israelis nor Palestinians) are interested in such a deal. The majority of Israelis would absolutely take such a deal - if true security could be guaranteed. Israel offered this deal over and over for about 30 years. Egypt took the deal in the 80s and there's been a cold peace ever since (in a nutshell: Israel captured the Sinai peninsula in 1967, built settlements there, and then dismantled the settlements to make the deal with Egypt).
The Palestinians have refused the deal every time because they won't agree to the conditions you outlined (whether it's demilitarization, relinquishing refugee status/land claims, or other issues like the status of Jerusalem - which is a very touchy subject for Israelis but even that has been put on the table).
Now, post-Oct 7, I don't know if you'd find a majority of Israelis in favor of this anymore. Not necessarily because their ideology has changed (although for some it has), but because they're much more skeptical about ensuring Israel's security if Israel were to withdraw from any significant portion of the West Bank.
Also wanted to comment on this :
"It likely requires the U.S threatening to cut off off aid and even imposing sanctions against Israel"
This would actually be counterproductive because again, the Palestinians are the ones refusing to compromise, and seeing pressure put on Israel would actually give them more incentive to hold out. I think Americans intuitively look to pressure Israel for 2 reasons:
1. Israel is a Western-style democracy and America feels it has more of a common language and can persuade Israel to see things in the same light.
2. Israel is the more powerful party (economically, militarily), and it just feels wrong to pressure the weaker party in a negotiation - even if the weaker party is being unreasonable and has shown no willingness to move the negotiation forward.
This second point I think is what lies at the root of FdB's frankly loony perspective on Israel/Palestine - he is a Marxist, sees everything through the lens of power, and cannot conceive of a situation where the weaker party actually has the agency (and responsibility) to solve its grievances with the stronger party without tearing down the whole system.
Google Realignment Plan, 2006.
Great article. Sadly, the can cannot continue to be kicked down the road regarding the Palestine-Israel problem, what you propose is what makes the most sense, now the difficult part is that there doesnt seem to be interested parties (or at least commited) in seeing that solution happen and that is probably the saddest part of it, because, eventually, you run either of road or can to continue kicking. All the best and thanks for the essay.
Thanks James. The only (very faint) silver lining in all of this is that hopefully both sides will realize that, in your words, the time for can kicking is over.
Excellent article.
Thank you Antonia. You're my first (and probably only) commenter on my first (and probably only) Substack post. :)
I'm curious as to why it will be your only post. Do you write somewhere else? Or are you like me, a person who is curious, cares about humanity, and wants to remain informed?
I will be sharing your article with others!
I'm generally more of a reader than writer. Also, I'm a slow writer and between work and family, don't have a lot of time, so I wouldn't be able to post on a regular basis which I think is necessary for a newsletter. So this was probably just a one time thing to help me process my thoughts about what is happening in Israel. But thanks for the kind words. Much appreciated!
Thank you for taking the time to write this and share it!