Sunday, October 9, 2011

Weblog Journal #3

There are many possible solutions to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Probably the best solution that I have heard is to split the country into two separate sovereign states. From what I have seen from news in the region, there is very little evidence that peace among the two peoples under governance of one or the other is simply not plausible, and neither is a joint government. The idea of "parallel states" was mentioned in class, and, while I think it's a good idea on paper, I do not believe that the idea of two separate heirarchies operating under the same government is a possible solution. Who would have the final say if the two parties were at odds with each other? And if one side of the parallel state decided to impose one law, would members of the opposite state still be held to that law? It is an interesting concept, but I don't believe it would work in this situation. The only plausible and effective solution would be to divide the states and allow them each to create their own governments and laws.

As for the city of Jerusalem, the city will have to remain neutral in order to keep both states happy. The best possible solution for this would potentially be to separate it from both the Israeli state and the Palestinian state, and make it a separate municipality such as Vatican city where parties from both states may come and share equal rights and equal access to the city.

It was also mentioned in class that the areas occupied by the Palestinians are separated by a portion of Israeli controlled land. This problem would have to be fixed in order to create an easily governed state; both states need to be contiguous in order to self-govern effectively. In order to succeed, both states need to have a strong national identity and sense of national unity as well as geographic unity.

The main problem with the proposal of separate states is the possibility of war after the states have been created and militarized. As for this issue, I believe it may be necessary for the U.N. to intervene as peace keepers until the situation has stabilized. The U.N. would be a neutral party stationed at the border of the two states whose only job would be to maintain peace. Initially, the U.N. would be responsible for policing the city of Jerusalem as well, and also would be responsible for training a local force of Israeli and Palestinian law enforcement agents to eventually police the city themselves. There are many holes in this plan which would need to be addressed and filled, but at this point in time, it is the only remotely feasible solution to the conflict that I can think of.

1 comment:

  1. I agree with you; a two state solution with Jerusalem as a neutral city such as the Vatican, seems to be the most viable solution.

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