I was up in Jerusalem last night (that’s in Israel for any of our readers who work for Apple or the US State Department). While there I had a chat with Dr. Mordechai Kedar and he put forward an interesting plan for dealing with our cousins.
If one looks around the Middle East today, and particularly at the manufactured Arab states the colonial powers left behind over the last 150 years, all one sees is, to put it bluntly, a bloody mess.
The only places that show reasonable signs of stability (and these aren’t all that great) are the ones built along tribal and familial lines. These are mostly the Emirates. Sure, these also have instabilities but this is often a result of importing large numbers of migrant workers from different tribes and sects of Islam.
So what do we see across Palestinian society? The same thing. The Arabs who have begun to call themselves Palestinians since the mid 50’s are by no means a coherent nation. It turns out there are some very strong clan aliegneces.
Building on this Dr Kedar proposes to dismantle (or basically stop propping up) the false entity of the Palestinian Authority. Waiting to take over are a bunch of local chiefs who we could deal with much more easily, are not so easily gripped by Islamic extremes and would run their areas more viably than the P.A.
You can read all about it on his site, Palestinian Emirates, and here is the 18 point summary. I’d actually add to the last point on Jerusalem: rename Ramallah as “East Jerusalem”. Ramallah is essentially to the (north) east of Jerusalem and the city has almost spread to join up. Call it East Jerusalem!
Palestinian Emirates – Eighteen Point Executive Summary
1/ The only true loyalty for Middle Eastern Arabs is to family, clan and tribe and the local sheikhs who are their true leaders.
2/ There is little trust that currently exists between peoples of the different tribes in the Arab Palestinian cities of Judea, Samaria and Gaza.
3/ Any PA led government of a Palestinian state would most likely become another corrupt and failing Arab state.
4/ If a Palestinian state existed the more militant Hamas would soon seize control in Judea & Samaria from the less militant, weak and corrupt PA/Fatah.
5/ Israel would be faced on two borders by Hamas whose Charter openly calls for the destruction of the Jewish Homeland and the killing of Jews worldwide.
6/ The PA/Fatah and Hamas are not reliable negotiating partners for peace and the concept of the Two State Solution must be abandoned.
7/ Israel must now take the lead to find a workable solution in light of the recent UN vote which did not confer actual statehood to the Palestinians.
8/ As tribal leaders the individual sheikhs may want their independence from the PA to chart their own destiny of peace and prosperity.
9/ Israel should recognize the development of independent city-states in seven cities of Judea & Sumaria which would likely occur over a period of years.
10/ The eight city-states would comprise the areas of Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Jericho, Tul-Karm, Kalkilya, the Arab part of Hebron and Gaza.
11/ Local residents would become citizens of these eight independent city-states while those remaining in rural lands would have the choice to become citizens of Israel.
12/ The Palestinian refugee problem can only be addressed once the UN realizes that there is no Right of Return for Arabs as citizens of Israel. Naturally Arabs should find their solutions in Arab states, not the one Jewish state.
13/ As these independent Arab Palestinian city-states develop they may choose to form a beneficial alliance together to increase security, economic development and other aspects of common interest.
14/ The leaders of these emerging city-states are more likely to accept Israel as the Jewish Homeland and root out terrorist and jihadist elements within their secure borders.
15/ Israel would absorb and control the less populated areas of Judea & Samaria to enhance security for the region and expand housing and commercial development.
16/ The PA leadership will eventually disappear from Judea & Samaria once the city-state movement takes root.
17/ Gaza remains an ongoing problem requiring possible future Israeli defensive military action and will only have freedom and opportunity for it’s citizens once Hamas and the other jihadists no longer behave like terror groups against Israel, but rather manage their state for the sake of their people.
18/ Jerusalem will remain as it has been since 1967, the undivided capital of Israel that welcomes peaceful people of all religions to live, visit and pray there.
