The PlanMake it your way to the founding State of PalestineBY PROFESSOR AFNAN A. EL QASEMDEDICATIONI dedicate this peace plan to our neighbour in Nablus, Palestine, a Jewish woman, who had a gentle soul and a magnificent beauty. I dedicate this peace plan to the eleven year old Israeli girl, who was just at my daughter Inas’ age. This Israeli little girl was in a program on Channel Five, among twenty male and female Israeli pupils, who agreed to live between Palestinian people. I dedicate this peace plan to the Palestinian child, Mohammad Al Dorrah, who was killed while trying to take refuge between his father‘s arms. He was shot to death by Israeli soldiers near a wall in Gaza. Paris April 2004INTRODUCTIONThe former prime minister of France, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, was the first person to whom I sent this plan in September 2002, in a certified letter and a certificate of receipt!! One year later on September 7, 2003, I sent it to Howard H. Leach, the U.S. ambassador in Paris. Neither of the two had bothered to respond to my letters, mind you if I have sent these letters to some third world countries, such as Mauritania or Bangladesh, I might have received a response, but not from the leaders and representatives of two of the most powerful countries in the world!Maybe I should have had the backing of the Israeli Mossad, the CIA or the D.S.T. Maybe it was because I did not have funds in a Swiss bank account, to bankroll my plan, similar to those that Yaser Abed-Rabbo and Yosi Beilin had during their Geneva Palestinian-Israeli deal. Maybe it was because I did not have a broker like the U.N. Secretary General at the time, Mr. Kofi Anan, to carry my plan to the Superpowers of the world. Sometimes I think if I had all that, I would have some listening sessions from the Prime Minister of France and the Ambassador of the United States of America. I had no one but myself to carry my plan, for my Palestinian people, to reach the Statehood dream which is for a long time have just been a dream. As an author, a novelist and a university professor, I could have just given up and lived my life aloft of my Palestinian people’s problems, but I could not do that. I am a strong believer in my Palestinian people’s cause for their national, ethical and humanitarian rights. I am determined and willing to carry my plan and message of United Palestinian-Israeli Statehood to the end, even if my life will be the ultimate price to pay.Everyone on this earth has a duty to fulfil. Since there is a vacuum in sincerity among today’s Palestinian leadership to reach a peaceful resolution that dignifies and restores to right to exist on their God given land, it is my duty and the duty of every Palestinian to push my plan and see that the rest of the free-world supports this plan, for it is the only likely resolution to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.Since many of my people are consumed with their selfish reasons and hidden agendas, I feel that I should carry the role of my people’s defender with others who share the same devotion for our Palestinian goals, even if the doors of the world’s leaders remain closed in our faces. This is contrary to the treatment that the puppets of their masters, the likes of Yaser Abed-Rabbo and Yosi Beilin, have received. The world leaders’ doors have been open for them, welcoming them with open arms. They are – as it seems – the extension and messengers of both sides of the same coin, where you find Palestinian officials at the offices of previous Israeli Presidents, from Moshe Katsav to Shimon Peres,and vice versa, where you find Israeli officials meeting with Palestinian Presidents, from Yaser Arafat to Mahmoud Abbass. Now it seems that the Western and Arab leaders, particularly the current Palestinian leaders, are alike as if corruption has consumed both worlds, Western and Eastern.Humble to say I have published over thirty books in French, I have distributed this plan and sent it to all major newspapers: Le Monde, Libération, Le Canard Enchaîné, Le Figaro, France Soir, Témoignage Chretien, Le Monde Diplomatique... No one, and I say no one, has accepted to publish a single line! I am very well known to all of them, but because I am trying to publish an important plan for the Palestinian people I became suddenly unknown. I felt the danger immediately. I sensed hidden hands playing in the background, in the dark, and they could not hide as hard as they tried. This is more dangerous than not to receive an answer from a Prime Minister of France who was always in the midst of an election campaign. It was more important for him to win over the hesitant voice in the popular Arab district in Paris, than the lives and dignity of an entire people in the Middle East. An answer to my letter and to millions of Palestinian refugees was not worth losing an election over. A no answer from the U.S. Ambassador, who considers himself in a permanent holiday in the “City of Art and Parisian lights”, is even more dangerous to the expressions of freedom.Freedom is wholly imposed on the media to respect and supposedly to disseminate any speech or opinion, whatever opposing the view that the author conveys. Rejection should not happen if a minimum of logic has been applied. I say the minimum of logic, even in the absence of the maximum limit of the substantive; otherwise what is the benefit of the term "freedom of speech" in the concept of "freedom of expression”?In the Middle East, there is denial of freedom of speech that aspires to total aspects of human dignity and human rights. It appears that the West has fallen not far behind. As long as our officials dictate to our editors and journalists, instructing them to ignore those speeches and articles that voice other opinions and points of view, opposite to what the West advocates, freedom will be doomed.Differing opinions seem to be ignored by the media, belittling them to oversight; a self imposed censorship, under the pretext that they do not know of any standard or guidelines to be used as to when to publish and when not to publish. As long as those so called guardians of "news and freedom," bear the trumpet of corruption, democracy will be a false item in their public market. This was clearly seen in a scandal that was masterminded by a former Prime Minister of France that was famously called the Juppé scandal. This former Prime Minister refused to leave his office as the Mayor of Bordeaux after he was linked in a corruption scandal that involved swindling salaries of phantom employees, who never existed, and which in turn resulted in the Pujadas and the resignation of famed journalist Mazerolle in the Second Channel. It was enough proof of how undemocratic and corrupt the media in the West have become. Paris April 2004PREFACEIn France there is this well known dish liquid called "Monsieur Propre”. In the Middle East, we need a version of that powerful dish liquid in order to clean the contaminated dishes that our leaders have dished out to us throughout the decades, poisoning our lives. We need that powerful dish liquid to clean the blood stains that our leaders have brought on us. I doubt the tarnish of blood can be easily cleaned by any stretch of the imagination.All what is left of my imagination to employ, as lush as it was, is taking into account each of the elements that contribute to a mutual solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict in a way that is acceptable to both Palestinians and Israelis.First and foremost there is this subconsciously hidden, but sometimes obvious need, by both Israelis and Palestinians, to reach a peaceful and permanent resolution to their historical conflict. It is sickening to see those European technocrats sitting aloft in glass towers, closing the window between them and the rest of the world and sharing seclusion with them are their American partners, have filled the U.S and Western media about their peace plan. Their plan seems to be moving in a slow motion and never seem to be able to pick up the necessary speed and the magical chemistry of an equation like ours. The proof of that failure is in "the road map"; a misleading plan as I have explained in a previous chapter.Only the sons and daughters of that region, Arabs and Jews, who know and feel the pain and suffering that consume both nations, Palestinian and Israeli. Alone, they are capable of forging a peaceful resolution powered by the charge that comes from being the silent majority. Their independence of thought, their hunger for peace and their eagerness to contribute will have the desired effect towards a viable resolution of this ongoing conflict. They will never be lost in the maze of discussions for the sake of discussions and negotiations for the sake of negotiations over the viability and the ability of a Palestinian state that can survive.The inhabitants of that region will be moved by sights of the World Trade Centre tumbling down and will be moved by the force of humanity toward the holy goal of saving mankind. They know that after September 11th, 2001, a new era has emerged; an era in which no war can be won but peace and tranquillity will be the only winning solution; a kind of peace that is handed down by normal people, who in return will give peace to the rest of the people on earth.Without all those wars in Palestine and the catastrophic tragedies that followed, I myself would not have accepted what I am suggesting today. I would never dare to look at things face to face and dive into the future with depth, way deeper than the far future of Arabs and Jews. It is time to be responsible. We shall carry our share of the responsibility. Leading the way are those who call themselves the “warriors’ generation”, my generation, the ones that have been inflamed by violence and wars.As to my plan, I will not go into great detail but instead I will raise interest and ignite enthusiasm through ideas that will be left to be polished and executed by legal scholars, economists and social specialists. I shall name all the points of conflicts; address with appropriate answers each and every point, anticipating what both sides of the conflict would expect. I will offer sufficient answers and not just proximate ones. This is only possible when you have sensible answers that please all.EASTERN UNIONKing Abdullah II of Jordan, said that "he would not hear of an engagement with the Palestinians before the establishment of their state." Shimon Peres, the President of Israel, often spoke of an economic future that includes all states in the region. He implied, of course that we, the Palestinians, would be a part of this once our identity is specified. In the West, France is among the first countries to have advocated the establishment of a Palestinian state, alongside Israel, as a precondition to any solution. The U.S. President keeps saying that he supports the creation of a state belonging to the Palestinians and ensuring Israel's security. For us, of course, this is the first to be desired. We fought and lost thousands of our men, women and children for creating that state. We prefer not to hear about economic union or other bilateral arrangement before our independent Palestinian state comes into being. Yet, everything must start from somewhere.Indeed, the basis for a definitive solution, as in my plan, is not "Gaza and Jericho first...West Bank and Jerusalem after", or any other form of state, be it bi-national one- state, as advocated by the late Professor Edward Said of Columbia University, or two-states, as advocated by most others, but “Union first." That's the key. The Palestinian State will be announced along with the Union. To meet the aspirations of both of these two peoples, Israeli and Palestinian, whose fates are linked by a single land, a single history, a single economy, in my opinion, forming a simultaneous Palestinian State and a regional Union is the best of all solutions.The Two-States form, each with defined borders, and simultaneously entering into a regional union, will address the needs, the rights and aspirations of both peoples, Palestinian and Israeli. With it, all problems are settled, all disputes are solved, all rights are restored and all hardships are overcome, despite the orthodox position of those who thank God for having a separate Israel from other nations.As for the Union’s name, it was obviously the choice between the “Eastern Union”, like in the “European Union”, or the “United States of the East”; though personally I prefer the first. I let each country administer itself within a federation, guided by a fundamental principle: “the separation in the union.” In other words, I am for creating a common market which, unlike Europe, will lead immediately to other non-economic areas, taking into account -and this is like Europe- the specificity of each nation. Why now? Because the region cannot wait much longer for miracle cures, and because all means are now available to enforce this Union. Other states could eventually join the Union, like the U.S. or France. The Mediterranean basin has never been an obstacle; it will always be a link to build the new societies. We may associate religion with modernity. Islam has never been the traditional enemy of the West; some lunatic so called Muslims may be, but Islam never. The cessation of the war in Lebanon proves it. The design of ruling of a sovereign nation over others will become obsolete. Nations will turn their power to build and advance without constraint. It will relieve the burden of having a dictatorship. We finally show that the Union between East and West is not impossible.Eastern Union Aspects:Economic:Obviously, creating a common market between Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, yes Saudi Arabia, from where we all came from, a pan-East market, will spearhead a larger economic whole including other countries in the region in the future. This regionalization models no geographic area. The economic space, meanwhile, will adapt and undergo a shaping in an evolving world. The rise of the Union lies in its development. I say that because evolution involves regionalization of all states that make up this Union. Thus, we will end the long and disastrous periods of war to usher in an era of peace and prosperity.Apart from the fact that Saudi Arabia is the cradle to all of us, why this choice?Contrary to the concept of war and division of the Bush administration, the new era inaugurated by the events of World Trade Centre must halt all military action and fragmentation. In a move to globalization of justice and law, the trend should be to strengthen links between poor and rich countries, which is the only way to end terrorism and violence. Saudi Arabia is a rich country, and anyway, in a strategy to unite all countries in the region sooner or later it will be part of this new economic structure. Likewise for those who belong to "ahl adh-dhimma" dhimmis, that is to say non-Muslims, namely the Jews and other Christians recognized and respected by Islam.It must be said that a peaceful space is always a space conducive to the development of man. In all states of the Union, we apply the same laws of social life to provide access to schools, social security, health, recreation, fellowship, solidarity, love and freedom. We will defend the agricultural production and industrial output. We will regulate wages. A fair economic share implies a real social policy. Only thus we will not submit to the single market law.Culture:Culture means the assertion of individual personality and in universal sense it will mean fulfilment. Full respect of the specificity of each State will be provided. Nevertheless, the study of Hebrew as a second language, will be considered. In Israel, Jordan and Palestine to learn the language of "enemy" is considered a good thing. According to our former teachers, this helps to understand the psychology of the enemy to better confront him! Now, learning the language of the other will be a source of enrichment and cultural advantage. Arabic literature and Hebrew take off again. There is no question of acculturation. However, all cultural values are respected and cultural identity is preserved. The linguistic unification will never be on the agenda.Human rights, freedom and democracy:Respect for human rights is the basis for common action on the international stage, or separately within each country. On the other hand, the Union will promote common standards in maintaining the system of national rights. Thus, by diversifying, the political side draws strength from democratic institutions. Saudi Arabia, our common cradle, will begin immediately a process of democratization of state institutions, religious and political.Jordan will be less timid in its initiatives. Palestine will follow the example of Israel by separating the real power of the Presidency, to be held by the Prime Minister. Thus, freedom of religion, freedom of choice to work within political parties, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and all other freedoms are preserved.Other aspects:In this political space, where regionalization comes to shared sovereignty, the Union can include:- Legal component (justice for anyone who aspires to a broader justice).-Military component (an army to defend the Union in case of external aggression).- Ecological component (a common measure to live in accordance with laws of nature).-Tourism component (a beautiful area like ours can attract tourists from all over the world).- Administrative component (a greater effort to remove the red tape and facilitate matters of everyday citizens as well as inter-state approaches, etc...).Disputes and litigation:Once the Union is established, disputes and litigation will be resolved based on U.N. resolutions 242 and 338:Jerusalem:It will be the capital of the Union and remains unified. Also, Jerusalem will be a shared capital of Israel (West Jerusalem) and the capital of Palestine (East Jerusalem). There will be a sharing of power and responsibilities within the two municipalities. Places of worship will be protected as it has always been the case by the faithful themselves and their religious associations, under Palestinian sovereignty in its sub-capital, and under Israeli sovereignty in its own sub-capital. A joint municipal police will be formed to ensure these religious places are protected.The Green Line:These are the borders of Israel in 1967, finally identified and recognized. However, the green line represents a path and not a barrier. As with the European Union, the borders of member countries of the Eastern Union will be open to movement of all its peoples. Gaza and the West Bank, in other words the State of Palestine within its borders finally defined and recognized, will have a territorial continuity through a land corridor connecting Gaza to the West Bank. This land corridor will not be under Israeli sovereignty. Israel maintains its contiguity on the corridor sides through a venue above or below this corridor. Israel will have no right to inspect or control the movement of goods and people through the corridor to its access points. There will be no Israeli warning stations or surveillance bases on the State of Palestine. The full extent of the Union will be open to everyone; Israel with Palestine, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and other members to come. The Union will end the isolation of one or the other off his country. The territorial contiguity between one or the other states must not represent any danger.The security requirements:Although Israel, Palestine and all other members of the Union have their own defence forces, the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) will be an added strength to their own to provide defence and security for Israelis, Palestinians and all other members of the Union.Definitely, however, the best guarantee for the security of Israel and all Eastern Union members is security arrangements with the United States of America, France or other Western Power. These countries are not obliged to join the Union, but at a given sphere of its multiple spheres; and in this case is the area of defence, they are welcomed to do so. In joining the Union army, these countries are the best guarantors of security for Israel and all other Eastern Union federal states. Far from simply forming a bilateral or multilateral treaty, in joining the Union, the United States of America, France and throughout the West, will be devoted in body and soul to the welfare and security of the Union.The Right of Return:A symbolic return to Israel of 1948, Palestinian refugees will take place. These Palestinians will become Israeli citizens under the banner of the Star of David. The rest of the exiled Palestinian population during the war of 1948, will receive a very good financial compensation that will help them change to better life where they reside. Unless naturalized in their adopted countries, they will be citizens of the State of Palestine. Ditto for the Jewish population which has left the Arab countries as a result of 1948, war. On the other hand, all those who have taken the path of the exodus of 1967, will be guaranteed to return to the State of Palestine. However, like the European Union, the population of each member state of the Eastern Union is free to choose where to live and work, including in Israel. There are Americans, French, Italian, Polish, etc..., who work and live in Israel without affecting with their presence, from either far or near, the specific characteristics of Israel, and so it will be in the Palestinians case. To preserve the legal status and the specific character as to religion or race of each State in the Union, and primarily the State of Israel, this alien population, their children, grandchildren, and for all generations that follow, will have the right to citizenship and other civil rights only in their own country of origin.Settlements:Settlements must be considered on a case by case basis. Those that represent a territorial continuity with Palestinian cities and villages would remain under Palestinian sovereignty. The Palestinians would understand that the sovereignty of the Eastern Union, including Israel, will play a key role. All other settlements will be the dismantled. We apply the same rule to their inhabitants as to the 1948, Palestinian refugees, in that those Jewish settlers (and all Jews around the world that does not bother me), have the right to work and reside wherever they wish in Palestine and in the entire inhabited Union. However, the right to citizenship and other civil rights are denied them. Thus they satisfy their inclination for a religious home and participate in the construction of the Union and the happiness of all its citizens, without usurpation of land or entity and without forming any settlements.CONCLUSIONThis is the essence of my plan. As is now, the Palestinians are under Israeli occupation and have no rights. Even a nation of beggars has rights, but not the Palestinians! The Israeli and Palestinian national conscience must assume their responsibility and form a Union. The Palestinian State will be announced along with the Eastern Union. Everything is possible and ready to be solved within our Union. A Union dedicated to security and prosperity of all countries in the region. It is absolutely not incorporated to throw the Jews into the sea or the Arabs into the desert. The Israelis will be satisfied in that not only Palestinian extremists, but all the entire peoples of the region, will become guarantors of a just and lasting peace. As a starter, delivery of U.S. and French aid under the auspices of the UN, for a limited mission in space and time, prepares the way for normalized life in Gaza and the West Bank. Immediately following recovery bilateral and quadrilateral negotiations must start and should include all opposing forces. Without their participation, the situation will remain precarious. This will clear the atmosphere and install trust and confidence between the two camps, future allies and partners. No solution will succeed if it is not based, first and foremost, on unity and equal civil rights among its people, both Israeli and Palestinian.
Ottawa International Poets and Writers for human Rights (OIPWHR)
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