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STEP SIX: THE FUTURE OF PALESTINIAN REFUGEES
All Palestinians wherever they are, including Palestinian refugees, would automatically become citizens of Palestine. They can reside on its territory at their pleasure. They could also opt for a permanent foreigner resident permit in their current countries of refuge, by agreement with and subject to the laws of such states. If any country wishes to naturalize any number of refugees, this can be done at the discretion of the governments involved. The question of compensations for the 1948 refugees would be addressed in future stages later in the process.
STEP SEVEN: THE FUTURE OF PALESTINIAN AND JEWISH POPULATIONS
Start the gradual repatriation of Jewish settlers in the West Bank towards Israel, beginning with those living in the midst of Palestinian populations in urban areas such as those in Hebron for instance, followed by those living in isolated areas. Should some Jewish settlers elect to live among the Palestinians under Palestinian sovereignty, that choice will be open to them. This means that they would be equivalent to the Palestinians living in Israel and carrying its citizenship. Instead, if they opt to simply live like foreign residents in the Palestinian Territories, then they will be issued a renewable Residence Permit, as long as they reside subject to the laws and regulations in force in Palestine.
Palestinians who are citizens of Israel may elect to stay where they are and maintain their Israeli citizenship, or move to the areas that will become Palestine. The same applies to Palestinian residents in Jerusalem. Such Palestinians may choose to become Israeli citizens as well as obtain Palestinian citizenship, exactly like Israeli Jews who are dual nationals of Israel and other countries, including some Arab countries such as Morocco for example..
As for the future of Jerusalem, it will maintain its current status until an effective peace is reached between the Israelis and the Palestinians in the future. Today Israel has Jerusalem firmly in its hands. Anybody who thinks that it will relinquish its control of the city, even partially through negotiations, or even under threat is certainly naïve. They will keep it, and the Palestinians will keep the West Bank and Gaza. The Palestinians and everybody else will be able to visit the Muslim and Christian shrines in Jerusalem and the Israeli and non-Israeli Jews will be able to visit the religious shrines in Hebron and elsewhere in the West Bank the same way Muslim pilgrims do when they visit holy shrines in Saudi Arabia. They apply for a visa, visit, do some tourism while there, and certainly go shopping too, then return home to their respective countries.
WILL IT WORK?
There will certainly be those on either side who will immediately express their doubts about this approach. Doubters about everything and anything exist everywhere, and they should not be allowed to spoil the party. Both Israeli and Palestinian communities have the potential for sharing beautiful things in the future, yet due to the existing clash between them, they can only exchange the worst humans can exhibit.
The world is doing the impossible to save the environment and accommodate the habitat between wildlife and human beings. Sadly enough, humans have so far been incapable of simply accommodating fellow humans who have become instead an environmental hazard to each other! Perhaps finding a solution to this intractable problem could set the example for future solutions to other problems facing humanity.
To conclude, suffice it to say that the Palestinians are more than just refugees, and the Jews are more than just Holocaust survivors. Should an illuminated soul wake up one morning and discover that “what’s good for the Palestinians is good for the Jews”, perhaps the whole perspective towards this problem could change. After all, given the proper atmosphere, the best neighbours the Israelis could have are Palestinians, and some of the best allies the Palestinians have today are Jews.
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