Presently we are in deadlock: In their hearts Israelis know that some Palestinians want to wipe Israel out and reclaim all it land as soon as they are able. They see preventing Hamas from freedoms that would allow it to grow economically and militarily as an existential necessity. Palestinians in their heart know they are prisoners on their own land and their children’s children may well also die as prisoners on that same land. Without any hope in sight many see crazy drastic shit as the only reasonable response.
Here is the nub of the problem: Even if Israel showered benefit and wealth upon Gaza there would still be 1% that would use any new found freedoms or wealth to blow Israel up! There is too much bad blood, too much funding from Iran, and too much honest feelings of having lands stolen. And no one can force a Palestinian to not believe their lands were stolen—everyone has a right to believe what they believe (even if YOU are certain that THEY are wrong).
My solution is to give Palestinians a choice: Stay where they are today, or move into a separated “Pro-Israel” enclave within their territory. Families that voluntarily join this enclave must commit to having NO MEANS to attack Israel and swear an oath to personally do their part to create a society that diligently ensures that no one else in their enclave harbors such means or intentions. Its not moral or workable to force such a dramatic commitment upon a person — this must be a voluntary choice. This group would not be monitored from without, rather it would monitored itself from within. It voluntarily arranges many types of self monitoring to ensure that shady stuff is not happening within its midst.
The international community and Israel would gladly partner with such an enclave, indeed most everyone would support such a group. Fostering peace would be a simple a fostering jobs within this enclave. As families realized their jobs were only as secure as their ability to keep their enclave free from Israel-attackers, they would become VERY motivated to keep such folks out! I am sure they would not be 100% effective, still they will be much more effective in policing themselves than Israel is today in policing from afar and operating AGAINST the wishes of the people they hope to control. Some might counter that its not fair that Palestinians should be required to swear an oath to protect Israel and to suffer the self monitoring needed to ensure compliance. I would agree, but is seems a tiny price compared with the Palestinian treatment today!
Once this tiny starter group had proven itself capable of carefully monitoring itself, Israel could relax restrictions on this enclave’s travel and it commerce. This, plus international investment, could make the enclave quite attractive. Over time more and more Palestinians might choose to move into this enclave, once it was shown it could be a path to a “post-prison” future for themselves and their children. Perhaps over time the enclave could evolve into a protectorate of Israel. A self-governing country that had all freedoms of other countries except its defense was handled by Israel.
Some might also counter that Palestinians need violence to be heard by an Israel regarding unfair access to water and many other practical issues. I disagree, since this group is not a security threat Israel cannot use that excuse to limit the group, and their voice would be purer and more universally supported in Israel and on the international stage. They would be more able, not less able, to lobby for real change. Since the founding of Israel, violence has ALWAYS resulted in a loss for the Palestinians.
I have thoughts about how one might manage the buying of land to create such an enclave as well as some thoughts about how to handle groups that would specifically try to destroy such an enclave. But first I thought I might want to get reactions to the idea itself. So… what about a three state solution?
