By: Lisa Fiorilli
The current round of the peace process has seemingly stalled once again. Many, including Brazil, Russia and the Palestinian leadership, have pointed to the role of Israel's refusal to stop settlement efforts in contested areas. Often, we are painted a picture of a stubborn Israel that refuses to abide by international calls to halt the settlements. Even recently, the issue was brought to the attention of the United Nations within a proposal brought forth by Lebanon, and co-signed by 122 countries worldwide. Important to note however is that the US has signaled that it will veto the resolution at the present time, while stating its commitment to a two-state solution.
Lost in all of this media attention is the simply fact that the stagnation of the peace process is not uniquely an affair that concerns the Palestinians and international media. Though we often have a tendency to treat Israel as one unified actor in the process, this can be countered with some interesting editorial pieces that have appeared in Israeli as well as American news sources. What these types of editorials show us is that there is an active debate within Israel as well about the type of peace settlement that is fundamentally satisfactory to their own security needs and interests.
An especially interesting proposal comes from Eddie Yair Fraiman within the op-ed section of YnetNews.
Fraiman proposes that " Formulas of a federal Israel, with a Jewish majority in Israel, while providing minority rights of cultural and civic autonomy, such as the Scots in Britain or the Basques in Spain, is a possible solution to the conflict ".
He points to this type of arrangement as consistent with Menachem Begin's belief that the solution to the conflict lay in providing autonomy to the Palestinian territories.
He points to this type of arrangement as consistent with Menachem Begin's belief that the solution to the conflict lay in providing autonomy to the Palestinian territories.
This is an interesting proposal, as he unequivocally rejects a two-state solution in his editorial, but allows that the best possible solution is not unanimous Israeli control over the territories, but instead a federal arrangement.
We thought this was an interesting editorial because Israel is often painted as unwilling to budge on major concessions to Palestine. This editorial offers some hope on a plausible solution, as there is still an intellectual debate on the best kind of peace settlement that serves the interests of both sides.
So what do you think: Is Fraiman's proposal a workable solution to the conflict? What would be some of the drawbacks? Some of the benefits?
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Photo from: http://www.africa-analysis.org/newsite/?p=74
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