Jordan, Israel and Egypt need to work this out. Everyone else needs to butt out. The PA must be disbanded.

Submitted by Michael S, Jan 26, 2017 at 05:56

Hello, Daniel. Since you have already debunked proposals ##1-3, I will just talk about #4:

"a regional initiative that would bring in Arab states interested in helping to manage and eventually solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - whether or not those states have formal relations with Israel"

Mr. Yaalon is proposings, if I might take the liberty of giving an analogy, the police (the Arabs) stepping in to keep peace between a squabbling couple (Israel and Palestine) who are arguing over which one has title over the house. If my analogy has any weight, the obvious solution is not for the police to waste their time; but that the couple should get divorced and divide the spoils in court.

"... linking 'concessions to Israel by the Arab states with Israeli concessions to the Palestinians.' Everyone thereby gains: 'The Arab states achieve what they say is their main goal, justice for the Palestinians. Israel gets peace. Palestinians have their state.'"

"The Palestinians have their state?" Why? Because the neighboring countries will FORCE the Pals to be content with only part of Israel, while their own charter demands that they get it all? I don't think Israel's neighbors have that kind of clout. There's only one country in the region that has the clout to keep the Palestinians in check: Israel.

The closest seconds are Jordan in YeSh and Egypt in 'Aza. Those two countries ruled in those respective areas for 19 years; but they have both seen fit to wash their hands of the "Pals" and give the problem to Israel. Whether the Pals have a state or no, Israel is still left holding the hot potato; because whether they are independent or part of Israel, the "Palestinian" Arabs are still in the MIDST of Israel. As such, they are a continuing security risk to Israel, and they are dependent on Israel for water, electricity, hospital care, employment and even security (If Israel were to quit Yesh, civil war would immediately break out there).

"The way Palestinian politics is constituted now, movement toward a more conciliatory perspective is possible but might take a century, or more. One way to speed up the process might be to pragmatically cocoon Palestinian nationalism in a broader Arab fabric. In other words, if the relevant Arab states who have compatible interests with Israel on a range of issues ... essentially DELIVER the Palestinians to a deal and VOUCH for them, we might actually get somewhere."

-- Moshe Ya'alon

There, you have what I have just been saying: The neighboring states are expected to "deliver" the Palestinians and "vouch" for them. This sort of thing just doesn't happen in the Middle East. They Syrians, a few years back, were able to "vouch" for the Lebanese, by occupying that country militarily. They left behind a vastly enhanced Hizbullah, which now runs the place. Syria itself, however, is being torn about by a civil war. If Jordan and Egypt are to commit troops to the "Palestinian" areas, to "vouch" for the Fatah and HAMAS Arabs there, they will both find that the Palestinian problems will become THEIR problems -- as Jordan learned in the Black September of 1970, and as Egypt is experiencing today in northern Sinai. Egypt is big enough, that it could (with foreign help) handle Gaza; but Jordan cannot absorb more Palestinians than it already has within its borders (wherein the Pals constitute a majority).

Both Egypt and Jordan recognize Israel; and they are the neighbors most capable of helping Israel strike a deal; so let's leave Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, etc. out of this: The latter can be of no help, but a great deal of trouble. In order for Ya'alon's idea to work, Israel needs to develop a close working relationship with Jordan and Egypt, period. That is where the energy should be focused; and all the other players should keep their noses out of the matter. Between the three of them, peace is possible. Perhaps the two Arab states can be persuaded to take over joint security in the territories. This can be worked out, if the parties are willing. Fatah and HAMAS, meanwhile, along with their confederates, need to be outlawed by all three states; and the PA needs to be scrapped.

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