I thought I would start a new thread for this, since the Hamas thread has kind of turned into two discussions at the moment. I think we can discuss our ideas of how to make peace in the Middle East in this thread, and leave the other one open to discussions about the current Gaza conflict.
To get get things started, I posted this in the other thread:
Quote:
Originally Posted by _Q_
20% is the official number, but some say there is probably more. Closer to 25 or 30%. In fact I would argue that the Israeli Arab population is higher than 50% if you count all the Jews that came from Arab countries. That group numbers around 3 million and until the creation of Israel, most of them would have identified with where they're from rather than their religion. A lot of them still speak Arabic at home as well as Hebrew. But, this opens a can of worms in terms of who is or isn't a Jew and most of them do not associate with Arabs anymore.
The way I see it is this. Create two states, one Jewish and one Arab (Israel and Palestine). Have them both in a confederation, call it something neutral and uniting like United Semitic States. Both people can agree that their Semites, they can start with that. Have neutral symbols like what Cyprus did as to not offend each side. Each state has it's own laws that govern everything other than national defence and other things of national interest. Severely limit further immigration, maybe open a 5 year window for Jews and Palestinians to return to this new nation, then close the doors for good. Make Jerusalem the capital city, but make the district not technically in either state (sort of like Washington DC).
I'm sure it won't be as simple as that, but I think that's a solid framework that can be workable.
Edit: More importantly, do not re-settle either population, but rather have them accept that they will be living under the laws of their chosen state. Obviously human rights will have to be honoured in each state, but say Palestine wants to make public holidays coincide with Muslim and Christian holidays, then too bad, so sad for the Jews. If they don't like it, they can go to Israel. Similarly, if Israel wants to make Saturday and Sunday the weekend, then too bad for the Muslims, they'll just have to work on Friday and not go for Friday prayers.
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If you don't think a one state solution would work I would argue that Canada, Belgium, Switzerland and to some extent South Africa have all been successful in creating a single state for 2 or more nations. Obviously it won't be easy to implement this, however, I think it's the best chance at peace in that region.
What do you believe is the best solution? One State? Two States? Please keep it civil.