(With reply to IMRA) "Jenin Estates" and a Paradigm Shift in
Israeli-Palestinian Discourse: From the Discourse on National Rights to the
Discourse on Human Rights

Dear Dr. Kobi Michael,

I read with great interest your article, "Jenin Estates" and a Paradigm
Shift in Israeli-Palestinian Discourse: From the Discourse on National
Rights to the Discourse on Human Rights, and was hoping you might address
two questions relating to the article:

#1. You propose that Israel offer financial aid specifically directed to
Palestinian refugees:

a. Would this be the first time Israel would be providing aid specifically
earmarked for Palestinian refugees?

b. Would such a move constitute an acknowledgement on Israel's part of some
degree of responsibility for their being refugees?

#2. You propose the construction of Palestinian cities in Area C with
economic activity in areas surrounding these cities. Since Israeli
communities are also located in Area C, is there a possibility that such a
program might be exploited to facilitate isolating/choking off Israeli
communities (you note that via the proposed program the "Palestinian
Authority will gain additional territories") ?

I would like to share your replies, unedited, with the www.imra.org.il
audience.

Thanks.

Best regards,
Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA
=================

Dear Dr. Lerner,

Thank you for your interest.

Regarding your questions I would say the follow:

1. The Israeli aid will be part of the international community's aid and it
indicates the good will of Israel for relief and improving the horrible life
conditions of the Palestinian refugees. The rationale is humanitarian
although I can not ignore that it signals a political say, not
responsibility but empathy and understanding. Such approach can assist in
building confidence and trust.
This is not the first time that Israel is trying to assist the refugees by
providing resources and efforts. During the 70s' Israel even tried to build
new neighborhoods for Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip and to provide
housing solutions, but the project failed due to threats made by the
Palestinian leadership towards the refugees who were willing to move out
from the camps.

2. Not at all. There are many areas that could be located for these
projects and the idea is to promote the relief for the refugees, to enhance
and strengthen the Palestinian economy and infrastructure and to facilitate
the idea that there is no real chance for fulfilling the so called right of
return. If the Palestinians will be ready to endorse and adopt the
proposal it would be understood as a positive signal towards Israel and
indicate a chance for recognizing the right of self determination of the
Jewish people at the end of the process.

Best,
Kobi
http://www.ariel.ac.il/Projects/TRP/GeneralInformation.asp?numRec=428&numtafrit=3&id_lang=0&d=0
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kobi_Michael/?ev=hdr_xprf
https://ariel.academia.edu/KobiMichael
http://www.inss.org.il/index.aspx?id=4300&researcherid=6393
http://www.jiis.org/?cmd=researchers.133&act=read&id=368
https://www.facebook.com/kobi.michael.7
http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=56782639&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile_pic
===============
"Jenin Estates" and a Paradigm Shift in Israeli-Palestinian Discourse: From
the Discourse on National Rights to the Discourse on Human Rights INSS
Insight No. 553, May 27, 2014 Kobi Michael
http://www.inss.org.il/index.aspx?id=4538&articleid=7021

SUMMARY: A paradigm shift in the Israeli-Palestinian discourse, which will
enable a more developed foundation for advanced negotiations toward a future
agreement, is now necessary. Specifically, the discourse must shift from
national rights to human rights, focusing on the humanitarian rights of the
Palestinian refugees in the Palestinian Authority. Israel, with the backing
of the United States and the international community, should launch a
process built on the humanitarian drive to bring relief to the refugee
population in the PA and transfer this obligation to the Palestinian
government, which would receive aid from Israel and the international
community for the effort.

As part of his "ripeness theory" and its relation to international
conflicts, William Zartman introduces the concept of a "mutually hurting
stalemate." His main contention is that the status of a conflict can evolve
in the direction of dialogue and agreement only when the two sides reach the
conclusion that continued violence will not lead to fulfillment of their
political objectives. This argument can presumably also be applied to a case
in which the two parties have yet to realize that continued use of
longstanding strategies and ideological tools is not likely to benefit them.

Insofar as the political process with the Palestinians has proven
insufficiently ripe for reaching a peace agreement, it is fundamentally
futile, and as long as it attempts to achieve an end to the conflict, it has
no chance. In other words, any effort to shape the process is futile in
terms of the desired political benefit. Any time the US mediation effort
attempts to tackle substantive issues, it hits a wall of resistance.
Therefore, efforts are currently focused on an attempt to reach agreements
concerning the continuation of the negotiations. In this sense, the effort
is devoted to the process and not the substance.

The demands of the parties in the negotiations represent a national
discussion, a discourse on national rights. The Palestinians seek to focus
on the issue of borders and Jerusalem, while Israel's focus is on security
arrangements and the demand to recognize Israel as the nation-state of the
Jewish people (a condition for an agreement, not for holding negotiations).
However, this demand itself is sufficient to challenge the very process,
given the fundamental Palestinian opposition to this condition. This in turn
raises the level of Israeli suspicion concerning the true intentions of the
Palestinians in the future and the irredentist potential of the future
Palestinian state. In tandem, the level of Palestinian suspicion concerning
Israel's willingness to reach an agreement on the establishment of a
Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, with minimal land swaps and with
East Jerusalem as its capital, is increasing.

The focus on process rather than substance and the distrust, suspicion, and
even personal animosity between the leaders of the two parties makes
progress toward an agreement well-nigh impossible. Moreover, it increases
the chances that relations between both parties and the United States will
sour and that the Palestinian entity will be weakened even further. Indeed,
it is already a rather failed entity when measured by the performance of its
institutions, its economy, its ability to provide for the public good, and
especially its ability to ensure a monopoly on the use of force in the
territories under its control.

At this point, a paradigm shift is needed that will lead to a focus on
substance and to strengthened trust between the two sides to enable a more
developed foundation for advanced negotiations toward a future agreement.
The paradigm shift must start with a change in discourse. Specifically, the
discussion must shift from national rights to human rights, focusing on the
humanitarian rights of the Palestinian refugees in the Palestinian Authority
(PA). The treatment of these refugees is even worse than the treatment of
Palestinian refugees in the Arab countries, and these refugees are in
essence being held hostage by the Palestinian leadership, which cynically
seeks to perpetuate their misery and refugee status in order to foster the
Palestinian national ethos and retain political power in the international
arena. In doing so, the Palestinian leadership is violating the basic human
rights of the Palestinian refugees, while fostering the destructive demand
of "the right of return," which essentially contravenes Israel's right to
exist as the nation-state of the Jewish people.

Israel, with the backing of the United States and the international
community, should launch a process built on the humanitarian drive to bring
relief to the refugee population living in the PA and transfer this
obligation to the PA government, which would receive aid from Israel and the
international community for this effort. New Palestinian cities can be
established in Area C, which, with Israel's agreement, would be transferred
to PA responsibility, and Palestinian refugees can be rehabilitated there.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which over the years has
evolved from a mechanism to resolve the Palestinian refugee problem to a
participant in perpetuating their refugee status, would change its mission
and become the international community's representative for promoting this
drive. UN aid and additional aid effort would be used for this purpose.
Commercial and employment areas would be built next to the Palestinian
cities, with the involvement of Israeli, Jordanian, and international
developers, so that refugee rehabilitation would not be limited to housing
solutions, but would include a comprehensive employment, education, and
welfare package.

There is no question that a "Jenin Estates" or "Bethlehem Heights" project
would become an economic and social engine in the PA's economic, social, and
infrastructure development. With appropriate, careful, and close input from
the international community, it would also aid in developing the political
infrastructure of the future Palestinian state. No less importantly, a move
of this type would signal to Israel that there is a Palestinian willingness
to soften, if not rescind, the demand for the right of return, without the
Palestinian leadership having to declare at this point in time that it is
willing to consider recognizing Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish
people. Such willingness could surface in due course, once a project of this
type advances significantly. At the same time, the Palestinian Authority
will gain additional territories in a manner that signals Israeli
willingness for real territorial compromise in due course and improves PA
territorial contiguity, as well as economic and political recovery.

The Israeli and international effort must focus on the paradigm shift of
improving the welfare of the Palestinian refugees. The international
community must demand that the PA fulfill its basic obligation to its
citizens and cease to exploit their misery. The international effort and
international aid will be more effective and contribute far more effectively
to the Palestinian Authority, certainly in contrast to the vast amount of
money poured into the PA since its establishment in 1994. The extensive but
largely uncontrolled aid of the past twenty years has not significantly
advanced the PA and has certainly not led to relief of the population.

A move of this kind could swiftly improve the sad state of the Palestinian
Authority and bring renewed hope to the refugee population. It would create
a dynamic that could in turn lead to strengthened mutual trust, a focus on
substance rather than procedure, and development of a foundation for
negotiations toward a settlement in due course. If the PA refuses to act to
improve the welfare of its people and prefers to perpetuate their status as
refugees, this would be an indication of its future intentions and an
attempt to challenge Israel in international institutions. In many senses,
the PA is perpetrating a kind of humanitarian crime against its own people.
Unfortunately, it is relying on the UN aid agency and on the naivete, in
some cases deliberate, of the international community. In talking about
human rights, the Palestinian leadership would do well to take real action.
It is reasonable to assume that Israel and the international community will
be there alongside the PA.
============
Kobi Michael, a senior research fellow at INSS, is a senior lecturer in the
Department of Political Science at Ariel University. Among his primary
research interests are peace and war studies; strategy; national security;
civil-military relations; peace maintenance; and the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. Dr. Michael served as the deputy director and head of the
Palestinian desk at the Ministry for Strategic Affairs. He has published
widely in his field and has been awarded several academic prizes.

________________________________________
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