Status of Jerusalem and Palestine

“If you want to make peace with your enemy,
you have to work with your enemy.
Then he becomes your partner.”
Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa

Jerusalem

One key to peace between Israelis and Palestinians is to clarify the question of the future status of Jerusalem: When a peace agreement seemed to be within reach, the talks failed precisely because of this question.¹⁾

It is usually proposed that East Jerusalem should become the capital of a future state of Palestine and West Jerusalem the capital of Israel. For the holy sites in the center of the city, which are arranged in indivisible proximity to each other, a solution that is as balanced as possible should be found.

But would such a division of the city of Jerusalem into different zones of influence be desirable? Regarding a long-term sustainable peace order, the answer is no, because the division of cities has never brought peace and instead only led to ever new conflicts.²⁾

Therefore, a proposal is presented here that envisages Jerusalem as an undivided capital for both Israelis and Palestinians, each with their own states. The proposal includes full Israeli security control and at the same time gives the Palestinians far-reaching, equal rights.

On the one hand, the concept of this proposal could elegantly resolve one of the core problems – the status of Jerusalem – without having to divide the city. On the other hand, the proposal turns stereotypes of possessiveness on their head, and refrains from any blame game. Instead, it prioritizes a solution inspired by democratic possibilities, taking equal sides with both Israelis and Palestinians. All of this is rather rare in this decades-long conflict.

You will find a presentation and a corresponding text of the proposal “Status of Jerusalem and Palestine”.

The presentation of the proposal is available in pdf-format here and the text of the proposal is available in pdf-format here.

uideas

uideas