Ehud Olmert, former prime minister of Israel, and Nasser AI Kidwa, former foreign minister of the Palestinian Authority, have reiterated a proposal launched last July to “promote the achievement of peace” in the region. In a forum published in Morning Express, the two politicians have insisted on the convenience of “accepting” the annexation of 4.4% of the territory of the West Bank – where the main illegal settlements are located – by Israel, in exchange for the incorporation of an area equivalent to the Palestinian territory.
“This will include a corridor linking the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as part of the 4.4% exchange that will be annexed to the new State of Palestine,” the proposal states. At the same time, the two have agreed on the need to recognize both States on the basis of the 1967 borders. The proposal – presented after the Israeli Parliament rejected by a large majority the recognition of a Palestinian State in February – addresses issues such as administration of Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, today governed by Hamas.
The two leaders agree on the need to “quickly” end the war in Gaza, which requires achieving a ceasefire, the release of all Israeli hostages in the Strip in parallel with the release of an agreed number of Palestinian prisoners. of Israeli prisons, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and the creation of a Palestinian entity to administer and rebuild Gaza.
After achieving the ceasefire, they suggest the creation of a “Council of Commissioners”, made up of “technocrats” and not politicians, to govern Gaza. This Council would be linked “organically” to the Palestinian Authority – governed by Al Fatah, a political opponent of the Palestinian militia – and would prepare elections in Palestine within a period of two to three years.
The Old City of Jerusalem would be administered by a “five-state trust” that would include Israel and Palestine. The “Jewish neighborhoods” built in the city after 1967 would also be annexed to Israel. “Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Israel, will include all parts that were part of Israel before June 5, 1967, in addition to the Jewish neighborhoods that were built after 1967,” the text proposes, adding that the Arab neighborhoods that were not part of the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem before 1967 will become part of Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Palestine.
Leaders recognize the historical role of the King of Jordan. Under his proposal, Jews, Muslims and Christians would have free access to their holy places. No country will have exclusive political sovereignty in the “Holy Basin of the city of Jerusalem.”
Politicians agree that Palestine is a “non-militarized” state, except for “its internal police security force,” and highlight the need to stabilize the Gaza Strip with the “deployment” of a Temporary Arab Security Presence, in coordination with the withdrawal of Israeli forces. In this regard, Olmert and Al Kidwa – nephew of the former president of the Palestinian Authority, Yasir Arafat – trust in the creation of a front composed of “moderate states”, “including” Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries.
The Temporary Arab Security Presence would be mandated to prevent attacks against Israel from Gaza. In addition, Olmert and Al Kidwa demand the holding of a donor conference to rebuild Gaza, with significant participation from the richest countries.
The proposal of the two politicians is based on the plan that the then Israeli prime minister proposed to the president of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, in 2007. In July of that year, Olmert offered an “agreement in principles” that included the territorial exchange between Israel and the West Bank, as well as the opening of a corridor between the latter and the Gaza Strip – for which everything from a tunnel to an elevated road was contemplated. The talks stalled, marked by arguments over the future of Jerusalem, as well as the split between Fatah and Hamas and Israeli attacks on the occupied Palestinian territories.