The
CS Monitor reports today that Israelis are beginning to "ponder" a land swap that would transfer the status of Arab towns just inside Israeli's border, making them PA controlled areas.
The idea is currently being promoted right-wing nationalist Israeli politician Avigdor Lieberman. That in itself may make the notion suspect, but the particular problem is that his proposal essentially converts Arabs who currently have full rights as Israeli citizens into subjects of the Palestinian Authority living under Israeli military occupation. Who the hell would want that?
It is essentially an ethnic resettlement policy, without having to physically move anyone.
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Personal disclosure: I am an unapologetic Zionist. Though I am neither an Israeli nor a Jew, I am very close to the U.S. Jewish community and have visited Israel several times.
A stable, two-state solution is still the only path for true peace, whether that is accomplished by getting back on the Oslo track, or in part by such unilateral withdrawls as Sharon's exit from Gaza.
But shoving Israeli Arabs into the PA before it even exists as a legitimate, sovereign and stable nation will further fuel Arab resentment, and understably so.
While many Israeli Jews and Arabs charge that Israel's Arab minority are treated as second-class citizens, they do enjoy one of the best standards of living anywhere in the Arab world, including nationalized health, economic, and educational benefits. Those do not exist next door in the Palestinian territories.
"It's just a state of poverty," says Saad, of life under the Palestinian Authority (PA), which is just the other side of Israel's separation barrier that abuts this city's southeastern edge. In democratic terms, Arab parties just won seven seats in the Knesset, Israel's parliament.
Most earlier land-for-peace proposals, including the Oslo Accords, planned for the exchange of land already occupied by Jewish settlers with empty tracts of land, not already occupied towns.
I can foresee such a land swap in the (probably) distant future, but not until there is genuine peace and the prospect for a decent life for PA national citizens.
In which event, they may be willing to change status.