On Israel and Palestine
Zoltán Grossman
We’re often told that the Israel-Palestine “conflict” is “complex,” and we need to be “even-handed” and “balanced” in the way we “promote dialogue,” since there’s “blame on both sides.”
I couldn’t agree more. So in the spirit of even-handedness, I humbly propose the following 10-point program of action by both sides in the Middle East:
1.) That Israel returns all the Palestinian lands it military occupied in 1967, and the Palestinians likewise return all the Israeli lands they have militarily occupied.*
2.) That the Israelis cede control of the groundwater under the West Bank to the Palestinians who live there, and the Palestinians give back to Israel all the Israeli water supplies that they might control.*
3.) That Israel release its Palestinian political prisoners, and in turn the Palestinians free all their Israeli prisoners.*
4.) That Israel dismantles all settlements that have displaced Palestinians, and the Palestinians dismantle any settlements that have displaced Israelis.*
5.) That Israel halt its nighttime raids of Palestinian homes, and detention of children, and Palestinian soldiers also refrain from raiding Israeli homes and detaining children.*
6.) That Israel takes down the separation wall it has constructed through Palestinian farmers’ lands, in return for Palestine taking down any walls that it may have constructed.*
7.) That Israel stops shooting down thousands of Palestinian civilians trying to cross the Gaza border, and the Palestinians do not shoot Israeli civilians who try to enter Gaza.*
8.) That Israel lifts its siege of Gaza, and in return the Palestinians disavow blocking humanitarian supplies from reaching Israelis.*
9.) That Israel disarms itself of nuclear weapons, and Palestine immediately disarms any nuclear weapons in its possession.*
10.) That Israel no longer receives U.S. military aid, and Palestine likewise receives no U.S. aid for its military.* (This step alone would make all the other steps possible, in a very short order.)
This balanced, even-handed 10-point program would accomplish what both sides should obviously want: a halt (by both sides) of the continuing tit-for-tat violence, and hopefully a lasting peace in the Middle East.
Zoltán Grossman
Geographer
*— (which is none)
