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Monday, November 16, 2020

The PLO's Red Lines for a Palestinian state, from the Palestine Papers, part 3: Settlements and corridor to Gaza




Continuing on with the full text and my commentary of the PLO's NSU Negotiation Principles Matrix:

ISSUE

CORE PRINCIPLES

POSSIBLE FLEXIBILITY

SETTLEMENTS

·

·

Settlement freeze

·         A freeze is a must.

·         No compromise on: (1) territorial scope (must  apply to all Pal territory occupied after 1967, including East Jerusalem; (2) all settlement- related construction (structures of every kind, roads, fences, the Wall, infrastructure, etc.); (3) all extra financing to settlements and settlers;

(4) be permanent (until implementation of  CAPS); (5) third party monitoring and verification mechanism; and (6) outpost evacuation (since Mar 2001).

·         Better freeze also includes: (1) all land confiscations and property destruction; and (2) all settlement planning.

Evacuation of settlers and

·         No negotiating about sett ‘blocs’ or on basis of

·         Residency rights for some settlers is a

dismantlement of settlements

settler pop. (e.g., Israel wants to annex 80% of settler pop.)

·         Negotiate on sett-by-sett basis and in reference to sett built-up areas.

·         Israel cannot remove/damage/destroy assets unilaterally. Fate of sett assets determined according to international law.

·         Pals will not compensate Israel or settlers for sett assets.

·         Israel is responsible for restoring the land to its prior condition.

creative option to avoid swapping difficult areas and make Palestinians look more reasonable at the table.

There is no flexibility here. All "settlers" must be uprooted from homes that many of them have lived in for longer than many Arab "refugees" ever lived in British Mandate Palestine. 

But the details are even worse. The Palestinians want to move into the houses that the Jews built - they do not want a repeat of Israel destroying homes in Gaza. And they want all this for free.

Even crazier, they insist that Israel "restores the land to its prior condition" - which contradicts the demand of not destroying the communities. Because besides Hebron, virtually every single "settlement" was built on land that no Arabs ever lived on before. 

Compensation for Jews who are forced to leave the homes they've lived in for decades? That's crazy talk! So is any acknowledgement of Jewish history in those areas.

TRANSIT AND COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE WEST BANK AND THE GAZA STRIP

·         A physical land corridor under Palestinian sovereignty.

·         Corridor on land (not tunnel nor bridge) and along the Beit Hanoun – Tarkumiya route.

·         Swap of underground area (not surface area) not sufficient. Split sovereignty will not work because technical needs do not allow for it (for example security, safety, maintenance, infrastructure installation, etc.).

·         Can accept something less than sovereignty but must be under Palestinian control and jurisdiction, permanently open.

·         Can accept third party role in policing or security, or hire 3rd party management.

·         Corridor could be sunken road in some parts not all the way.

 

·         Corridor shall be of sufficient width to allow for multiple lanes, a rail connection, and public utilities and water infrastructure. [Estimate for minimum needed width is 100m; total area of only 4 square km.]

·  Should also get supplementary safe passage arrangements.

·         Could be flexible on its construction, modalities of operation, control, financing, maintenance, possible third party role, and other specifications.

·         Construction and costs may be part of Israel’s compensation to Palestinians.

 

·         Safe passage must be for people and goods. No arrests. Meaningful and efficient access. No (or  minimal) restrictions on who can use.

·         Guarantee unimpeded transit until corridor fully functional. Third party to monitor implementation.

 

The PLO is explicitly rejecting the idea of a bridge corridor between the West Bank and Gaza. They want it to be on land and they want full control.

This means that the PLO would cut Israel in half. Israelis would have to get permission from Palestinians to go from Jerusalem to Beersheva or from Tel Aviv to Eilat. 

To call this a non-starter is a gross understatement.

And notice the "compensation to Palestinians" part which will be elaborated on later. Getting land and houses and infrastructure for free isn't enough - they are demanding money as well from Israel.




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