Here a plan, there a plan, everywhere a peace plan.
Conditions in Israel and the Palestinian Authority may not seem conducive to peace — Israel just formed what may be its most right-wing government ever, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is aging and becoming less popular.
Yet peace plans have been coming at the region from all sides. No less than three Israeli-Palestinian peace proposals have been put forward in recent weeks, spanning a range of countries, leaders and organizations.
A conference of some two dozen countries in Paris on June 3 reiterated the need for a two-state solution. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi reportedly has been pushing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abbas to meet in Cairo. And just this week, the U.S.-based Israel Policy Forum, a center-left pro-Israel group, presented two plans in tandem that are designed to lay the security groundwork for a peace treaty.
So is peace in the offing, or is it all talk? Here are the plans on the table, what Israel and the P.A. are saying and why these efforts are coming together now.
• Three paths to peace: International intervention, a trusted ally or confidence-building steps
The June 3 Paris summit was more than a year in the making. It was based on the idea that after more than two decades of inconclusive direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians, it was time for the international community to take a more active role. Nearly 30 countries attended; the Israelis and Palestinians were not invited.
The summit ended after five hours with a statement asking both sides to demonstrate “a genuine commitment to the two-state solution in order to rebuild trust.”
France, which organized the meeting, plans to convene another conference including Israel and the Palestinians by year’s end. But while the P.A. has praised the initiative, Israel has demurred, saying the only way to peace is through direct talks.
Sissi’s initiative may be more promising. He hopes to organize a tripartite meeting of Egypt, Israel and the P.A. to restart talks. Israel views Sissi as a trusted security partner, and he’s an ally of Abbas, so he could be better able to coax both sides back to the table.
A third push, meanwhile, has come from a coalition of American and Israeli military officials hoping to reassure Israelis that a Palestinian state would not degrade their security.
The plan by Commanders for Israel’s Security, a group of pro-peace former generals, calls for Israel to complete its security barrier around the West Bank, freeze settlement construction outside the barrier and provide incentives for settlers to relocate within Israel. The plan calls on Israel to forfeit sovereignty over the West Bank and acknowledge that sections of eastern Jerusalem will be part of a future Palestinian state.
A parallel plan from the Center for a New American Security focuses on the details of security arrangements in a future Palestinian state. It calls for a phased Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and an American security force in the Jordan Valley, the border between the West Bank and Jordan.
• Netanyahu and Abbas both say they’re ready — but won’t meet.
Netanyahu and Abbas have not met formally since 2010. Each insists he is not the obstacle to another round of talks. Netanyahu has called several times recently for direct talks and welcomed Sissi’s speech. He offered qualified praise for the Arab Peace Initiative, a 2002 Arab League proposal that calls for full relations with Israel in return for a Palestinian state, Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Golan Heights, and a negotiated solution for Palestinian refugees.
Abbas also says he is committed to peace. Gershon Baskin, an Israeli who has acted as an unofficial conduit between Israel and Palestinian leaders, told JTA last month that he personally delivered three Abbas offers for direct talks to Netanyahu’s office over the past three years. Netanyahu’s spokesman denied the claim. And in a March interview on Israel’s Channel 2, Abbas said he was “prepared to meet Netanyahu anywhere, any time.”
But the leaders’ declarations haven’t led to action. Abbas refuses to meet with Netanyahu absent prior Israeli commitments or concessions. Netanyahu, meanwhile, refuses to participate in international peace conferences, demanding only direct talks.
• Observers worry the window for peace is closing.
Despite adverse conditions, advocates for peace say there is an urgent need for another round of negotiations. They say continued settlement growth, as well as growing disenchantment among Israelis and Palestinians, mean a two-state solution may soon be impossible to reach.
Even if talks are unlikely, detailed proposals are still important, said Ilan Goldenberg, lead author of the Center for a New American Security study. By showing Israelis and Palestinians that an agreement is still possible, he said, the study keeps the opportunity for peace alive until Netanyahu and Abbas are ready.
“Abbas and Bibi have a complicated personal relationship,” he said June 2, using Netanyahu’s nickname.