Weekly Commentary: Trump-Netanyahu Meeting: Time for Real Program - 2
Sovereign States NOT Solution!
Dr. Aaron Lerner 8 February 2017

For two sovereign state solution advocates its pretty much a foundation of
their faith - that somewhere out there is an ironclad, rock solid,
watertight security arrangement just waiting to be finalized.

But I have checked with top Israeli International law experts. Including
former senior diplomats who themselves base the programs they pitch on the
hypothesis that such a security arrangement exists.

They all concede that a sovereign Palestinian state would CONTINUE to be a
sovereign state even if it openly declared that it was cancelling whatever
security arrangements it agreed to in order to come into existence.

The independence of Palestinian sovereignty from compliance is not some
obscure irrelevant fact.

It undermines the very foundation of the two sovereign state solution
program.

And with a new president in the White House who has yet to embrace the "two
sovereign state solution" faith, its time to talk about what can and should
be done given that two sovereign states is anything but a solution.

Maximum equality = maximum annexation

Full Israeli citizenship for every resident within annexed areas for full
and equal rights.

As for areas not annexed: maximum autonomy combined with maximum access to
Israel. With the exception of individuals identified as security risks
everyone in the autonomy can visit Israel, engage in commerce (as both
employees and entrepreneurs) in Israel and reach the rest of the world via
Israel's airports and seaports. Containers bound for the autonomy can travel
"in bond" by rail from Ashdod or Haifa port to a Palestinian autonomy
terminal - much as containers bound for Toronto may move "in bond" through
New York.

To be clear: there is a lot that needs to be worked out.

There is most definitely a place for think tanks, diplomats, politicians and
others to contribute to hammering out the details.

Details of a program that doesn't rely on the false premise that somewhere
out there is an ironclad, rock solid, watertight security arrangement for a
sovereign Palestinian state just waiting to be finalized.
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