Israel needs to launch a preemptive diplomatic strike

Israel can lease some land from the State of Palestine while it either removes settlements, or gets approval to have these settlers become dual Israeli-Palestinian citizens. Israel's history of turing the status quo into a game precludes interim agreements that do not include agreed final borders.

The legal document giving the Jews a right for a state in Jerusalem, WB, Gaza and Israel is enshrined in international law and the league of nations mandate for Palestine 1920's. American-Anglo treaty a few years later showed the agreement by Britain and the US as the mandate is the reason for this treaty. 1919 Paris Peace Conference Faisel and Weitzman signed the Paris Peace Agreement which would have given Palestine (including Jordan) as a Jewish Land. The British and French betrayed both sides and that fell apart. Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan were all created in the same way and each has their own Mandate. The PLO was created in 1964 and its charter clearly called for the destruction of Israel and even gave up Gaza, WB, and the Himmah (jerusalem). Again this is clearly stated in their charter from 1964. This is when Israel did not control the WB, Gaza & E.Jerusalem. UN res 181 is a non binding General Assembly resolution which one side refused to acknowledge anyways. The PLO Phased Plan 1974 clearly states the their aim to destroy Israel in steps. Sadly they are reaching the later part of their plan. The land is disputed and even Rabin with Oslo only gave them the option of their own autonomy not state, Jordan Valley, Maale Adumim, Gush, Jerusalem would all stay part of Israel. He was Labour (Left wing) at the time. Anyone today saying the same is for some reason considered a right wing extremist. Lastly the 1967 lines is an armistice line not a legal border. What ever happened to secure and defensible borders from UN res 242? According to US Military leaders this included most of the WB, Gaza, and two points in Sinai to ensure the entrance to Eilat would stay open. Jews have been a majority in Jerusalem for nearly 200 years and a major majority for much of the past century even the Arabs living there would prefer to stay in a Jewish State. Jews lived in Gaza, WB, E.Jerusalem long before Israel was created is it not anti-jewish to deny someone the rights to live on land because of the religion/nation they were born into? Anyways i am going a bit off subject but the point is that there is a real legal right for the Jewish State to have the land can someone give me a legal right for the Palestinians as a nation to the land.

If Israel would agree not to destroy Israeli built homes and infrastructure (roads. etc) Palestinians would agree to a peaceful development of borders and new states. If Israel destroys homes as they did in Gaza, no peace will come.

"At that moment, every Israeli apartment in Jerusalem's French Hill neighborhood will become illegal. Every military base in the West Bank will be contravening the sovereignty of an independent UN member state. The Palestinians will not be obligated to accept demilitarization and peace and to recognize the occupation." The settlements are all illegal now and will remain illegal. Every Israeli apartment in French Hill is already illegal (if it's in occupied territory). As long as the territory remains "occupied", that is, until there is a peace treaty. There will probably be increased pressure (that is, increased from ZERO) for removal of all settlers. The military presence is legal and will remain so, unless the UNSC decides that such a protracted occupation is per se illegal. After 44 years it certainly seems more of a land grab (illegal) than a temporary occupation (legal if peace is being pursued). Wake up and smell the coffee. Coffee is good for you.

Your promised peace suggestions never materialize. Your government finds excuses to continue and expand settlement. Your fanatics paralyze the political system. Your old friends are switching sides. Great article. Act before you are forced to act.

Long ago, 18 years ago, Rabin's problem was delaying 'Final Status Talks' until a massive campaign of settlement expansion had been finished. Eventually some Palestinians started to respond with renewed terrorism allowing the effective suspension of serious talks. Eleven years ago Sharon kicked off the Second Infitada. which led to his election as PM. Since then the entire effort of every government has been to delay any peace agreement with the Palestinians by methods as slick as Olmert's endless 'almost' and as bumbling as Netanyahu's blatant 'Never.' The UN General Assembly might well recognize a Palestine but can do nothing without the Security Council acting to enforce it. That will never happen as Obama is Netanyahu's lackey. Settlement expansion may continue until the last Palestinian is driven from Judea and Samaria.

When "pseudo peace" with Egypt and Jordan were arranged, there was the assumption that Israel would use the temporary security cushion to arrange a more stable peace. Of course that did not happen. All Israel saw were the short term benefits of reduced defense costs etc. Longer term benefits that did not involve instant gratification were ignored and discarded by Israel. Now again, this article shows the short term profit thinking that has led Israel to its current developing emergency. The article says *"if the Palestinians agree to a complete demilitarization, true mutual recognition (...) a total end to the conflict"*. How silly is that. Why not start from reality, understand that the Palestinians belong to the same species as the Israelis and will not accept what the Israelis would not accept if the tables were turned. Here is a clue. Instead of arranging a very short term peace that is guaranteed to fail quickly ("e.g., "complete demilitarization") arrange a long term peace that is based on reality and which can actually succeed if it is followed with responsible diplomacy. Israel will not last much longer unless there is a dramatic change in its way of dealing with its neighbors. The first neighbor it has to deal with is the Palestinians.

I think that the U.S. should make Israel the 51 state since they receive more gifts than any other state in the U.S. They have the politicians including the administration afraid to say yes to Palestinian state hood. They eventually will have 100% of the say in the U.S. They only have 80% now.

If you think an interim agreement that creates a quasi-Palestinian state on 70% of the West Bank is gonna fly, you're out of your mind.

If UN will bereave its mandat of the Israel state,the progressive Jews have the possibility to unite with European Jipsies into some liberal autonomy.

and may natanyahu listen to you and do nothing. and axel may there be one million "settlers" in judea and samaria in the coming year. and may orthodox jews in judea each have twenty children with HIS blessings

I was growing up in Ireland when this wonderful movie was shown. We were so proud that an Irishman was a leader in the courageous defense of the hill in the hours preceeding the U.N.vote. I can only imagine how disgusted those defenders of the hill would be to see the country they died for turn into an international pariah. The Jews kicked out the British--good for them--but then became just as bad. A very sad end to one of the few events of any decency that followed the war.

Why use the word preemptive in the context of diplomacy, this shows that the only language is one of agression when it comes to the Palestinians. Everything to do with the Palestians is how Israel can dicatate the terms of both the dicussion and the eventual peace. I do hope the UN, in your words, preemptively gives their seal of international approval and recognise the state of Palestine, without recourse to whatever the Israeli government says. The middle east world is changing, and the dictatorship of a right wing government in Israel has to face its own 'Eygptian' moment or be forced to do so, hoefully by its own people. Or the real power broker in the tragic story of the Palestinians and their fight against this crual occupation, the US government.

Where is the people of Israel? What concerns them? Why don't they say something as natural and clear as Shavit is saying? Barak taks about the tsunami, as a bandaid before the wound, but is he such an egoist, does he nor care at all? What about netanyahu? Has he morphed into just a short-sighted fox, caring to survive next week in opinion polls, without caring in the least for the country? Bith must go, if Israel is still sane.

Come September, as arranged with our Allies and partners in Europe, the UK, France and Germany will recognise the new Palestinian State on the 1967 boarders. To any right-wingers who cry "get lost, we don't need you" remember Europe covers 70% of Israel's trade, and sanctions can be arranged if needed.

Israel is already passing laws to make it much easier to expel anyone from the country (in the past two weeks). If they annex the West Bank and/or the Gaza Strip, they will have the "legal" right to enforce their laws upon the people in the West Bank or Gaza Strip. If this were to happen, the "boil over" in the Middle East could turn into a full scale "eruption".

Palestine should never have been ripped apart by the UN in the first place. A huge mistake that caused torment, bloodshed, and injustice to the natives. One State with freedom and opportunity for all. One Man, One Vote. The notion of FOR JEWS ONLY is obscenely racist. Jewish imports will have to adjust to realities...and yes, they are NOT superior to Sephardis....or Palestinians....or other goys. Diaspora Jews are a prime example of integration. Get used to it. People have to accept "the other." Salaam/Shalom

Bibi and friends will never withdraw from from even half the west bank. The messianic worldview isn't amenable to compromise. As a result, the UN vote in September is bound to happen.

"The state of Israel has no territorial claims in the Occupied Territories, beyond those mutually agreed with the PLO". That would transform your situation far better than some half-a**ed, self-serving, withdrawal from those parched, desolate, disconnected bits of the West Bank that you have no use for anyway.

the real state is on the eastern side of jordan. read your facts.

Everybody can see the disaster approaching. And even if Netanyahu prefers to dream about a nicer reality, his partner Ehud Barak has already shouted in his ears (and ours) that this will be a political Tsunami: Come September, the UN will recognize a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders. After this, it will become extremely hard to accept other borders, subject only to minor territorial exchanges. Israel will resist of course, but will slowly become a pariah state as a result (except possibly in the US where the process will be slower). It is so easy for Israel to act now and avoid the terrible consequences! All Israel needs to do is to stop settlements activity now (for the next 6 months only), and negotiate borders with Abbas. Notice that nobody, not even the US, pressures Abbas to give up the demand of stopping the settlement activity: It is justified by international law (against settling an occupied territory), and is simple common sense: You cannot negotiate dividing the pizza while one side keeps eating it. But Netanyahu is a political coward of unusual proportions. He is afraid of the settlers, a small minority, and of the extremists in Likud. Better remember that after Sharon removed the settlers from Gaza, his popularity soared and he was expected to win over 40 seats in the Knesset. Well, perhaps Netanyahu is afraid that Heaven will punish him by putting him into a coma...

This just sounds like a new strategy in the same old game Israel has been playing for years. talking about meaningless terms like 'a partner for peace' (as if entire peoples act as a single unit) and threatening unilateral action if peace doesn't come on their own terms. If Israel wants peace and legitimacy Israel need only do one thing: recognize an equal right to dignity and justice for the Palestinians. If Israel wants to keep the West Bank, it should give the Palestinians there citizenship. If it does not, it should stop encouraging the usurpation of Palestinian land. If Israel wants to be recognized as a democracy it should end the discrimination against Palestinian Israelis through mechanism such as the JNF and other institutionalized forms of racism. It isn't that complicated-- it just requires a shift in thinking away from a xenophobic, ethnic nationalist, 'only we matter' attitude to a more open-minded and open-hearted one, that values the life of each inhabitant of Israel/Palestine JUST AS MUCH as it does the Jewish ones. Unfortunately it seems like Israeli society has a long way and a lot of pain ahead of it before it will realize that this the only way. Israel's 'demographic war' is a war against its own soul.

As soon as they become state actors they should be held to the same standards as all other countries. Prepare war crimes charges in advance and be ready to file them if there is continued terrorism emanating from the territory controlled by the new country. Seeing as Gaza is still intentionally targeting civilians, it should be easy to do if you hold them to the same standards as other countries.

Rubbish. A demilitarised quasi bantustan 'state' - why would the Palestinians take this???? Arrogant nonsense. After decades of brutal OCCUPATION AND ILLEGAL SETTLEMENT the Palestinians deserve a real state.

do ss you please and scream and shout as much as you please.we will not have anything to do with defeatists who wish to please our european persecutors

And what about Gaza? Have any suggestions? Don't you remember, Ari, that it was supposed to be "Gaza first"? We LEFT Gaza, and what did we get? What did the Palestinians get? Are Gazans better off today than they were under occupation?

if im mistaken correct me but i understand from your article that israel should consier what the world thinks before the security of the people but i think israel should realize that a pre 67 borer state wont help it will make things worse

Israel must withdraw behind the green line and abandon the west bank settlements. This is the international position and this is the long time American position. Withdrawing from a few isolated settlements is a joke. In fact, the isolated settlements may have a future as a part of Palestine. Don't be so anxious to give them away. It is the large central blocks of settlements that must go. It is not possible to make a state shot through with vilent and hostile interlopers. Israel's right wingers are always ready to offer cow pies and call it pudding. Before this is all over, the Israeli right may be dining on a few cow pies themselves.

If the overwhelming majority of Israelis want peace and dislike what Bibi's doing. Why the hell did you vote for him?

Does Israel realize that dividing the land that the Lord gave her will bring down divine wrath from Heaven itself?

Mr Shavit asks for a diplomatic initiative. This is positive, and he is to be thanked. However, without the release of the 10,000 or so Palestinian prisoners being held in jails on Israeli soil (in defiance of signed agreements) and especially without the end of the blocus on Gaza, any initiative would be doomed from the outset.

There are so many issues involved - security handing over chunks of Judea & Samaria just for the sake of diplomacy will damage security. - lack of negotiation. What you propose is the government should decide to just say the arabs want it so for the sake of democracy we will give it to them stop all this talk of a negotiated settlement. - coalition government, all governments on the left and right need the same old faces to form coalitions and many of them are pro settlement. If the government tries to take them on head to head then they will pull out the coalition bringing down the government. Thats the reason why in the entire history of the country not a single government has ever lasted a full 4 year term. The biggest disadvantage about democracy is that you can't have 1 man who can do anything he likes. So we can't find ourselves a left wing leader and nobody will question him. The palestinians themselves have not earned the trust of the Israeli public and for every Grad and bus bombing the less people want to do deals with the arabs. There are so many reasons why we can't just say well people don't like us, they love the arabs so lets just blindly follow do what the arabs want. What happens when the palestinians decide 2 states isn't enough anymore and they want a single binational state do we say well nobody likes the idea of a Jewish state they all love the idea of a binational one so just to make everybody else happy lets go to the UN and announce we are going down the binational route. If we want a diplomatic solution we need to go on the offensive and say to the world we want a NEGOTIATED solution, Bibi has spent the past 2 years asking Abbas to talk but even when gestures were made like a settlement freeze Abbas wasn't interested in talking. Ask the world why they never question Abbas and if there is no progress in talks then its down to Israel the palestinians are 101% dedicated to the peace process but Israel isn't

Bye bye Geater Israel--hallo Palestine---or the one state solution---either way---chew loose.

Just as you are not able to reason with a stourbon child: So too are you not able to reason with stupid people. People who have to have everything they want laid out before them. And leave nothing for anyone else. But a hard head makes for a soft behind. And Israel is about to get their butt whiped! The UN will handle it in September.

If anyone here thinks that the UN will actually recognize a Palestinian state this year, I say: DONT WORRY FRIENDS. because they WILL NOT. The world and even the UN has seen what the Palestinians did with Gaza, and this is reason enough for Israel or any normal country in the world not to accept and recognize a 'Palestinian' state. Everyone knows that the Palestinians are absolutely NOTHING without Israel. Their whole economy is depended on Israel.

that provokes the settlers. Israel has become the hostage of religious nutcases.

“A realistic Israeli initiative would immediately hand over to the Palestinians sizable chunks of the West Bank while evacuating about 20 isolated settlements” It is far too late to evacuate 20 isolated settlements. A realistic Israeli initiative would see Ariel, Gilo and Hebron/Kiryat Arba cleared of settlers. Further evidence of Palestinian adherence to whatever conditions could be agreed would guarantee evacuation of Pisgat Ze’ev and Maaleh Adumim Next to go would be Efrat and Modi'in Illit Followed by the Jerusalem settlements YESHA is lost. Get used to it.

1.A Palestinian state is being created based on the 1967 borders. 2.All settlers living within the new state will become Palestinian citizen with the same rights accorded to the Arabs living in Israel. 3. There will be compensation due the rightful owners of the properties acquired illegally during the occupation. 4. Jerusalem, the cradle of three religions, will be the capital for Israel and Palestine or be put under the auspices of the UN as a most importuned historical site- accessible to all.

Diplomatic genius Netanyahu is an oxymoron. Diplomatic? Netanyahu? Genius? You jest.

do you know, that Your zionist "offers" are completely unrealistic, irrelevent and irrational? If not, so I explain You, where are irrational. You "offer" to Palestinians "life" in totaly isolated ghettos without water sources, communications, connections with rest of the world, without freedom of movement, without possibility of self-defence, without agricultural land. So, to see You in September...

... just like he dealt with the interview and questions on Israeli TV... he will "vanquish" them all with his rhetoric and leave them speechless...

And Barak doesn't have the courage to push the issue

This column is hysterical, and (a)historical. What does he think that Israel can do? There are long-term historical forces at play, and Israeli Apartheid is eventually coming to an end. This is a good thing. Get along with your neighbors, and vote together as a common population. If you don't like Arabs, then don't socialize with them. But you have no right whatsoever to deny the Palestinians their rights!

Realistic and bold plan of Sarid has two features: it is impossible in the current configuration of Israeli politics and does not come close to diplomatic breakthrough. Most importantly, the bold initiative of Sarid does not include settlement freeze or lifting the siege of Gaza, stop of demolitions etc. And repeats the canard of "no partner". It is probably more constructive to think how to address the situation when Palestine is recognized in UN. Perhaps allowing Palestinians to buy and rent at French Hill? Jerusalem in which all inhabitants can live anywhere?

The sky is not falling. If there is a Palestinian state, it will be across the river, not in the heart of Israel. Have a little faith folks. I have no fear whatsoever.