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A 100-year cease-fire

The Arab-Israeli conflict seems to be without end.
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October 8, 2014

The Arab-Israeli conflict seems to be without end. All the “big powers” have tried to resolve it without much success and no party is willing to change its mind. The majority of Arabs would like Israel to cease to exist, and most Jews, whether they live in Israel or not, see Israel’s existence as existential. What can be done?

Inventing the future has been part of what I have been doing for the past 40 years, since I was a student of architecture. I call it “pragmatic idealism.” I shoot for the feasible best and work its development with a pencil in one hand and an eraser in the other. My approach to a solution for the Arab-Israeli conflict follows the same principle. The discovery unfolds. While navigating toward an objective, ideas arise that would not have developed without movement toward the goal. To do that, one needs time. In this case, given the present level of distrust, mutual grievances and hatred between the parties, it will take at least three generations.

The Agreement

Consider a 100-year ceasefire as a framework. It is critical to establish a number of goals to be worked out within it based on performance. Without that, effective negotiations are impossible. The agreement would be based on a reward-punishment method to be monitored and policed by a neutral third party, possibly composed of Supreme Court judges. For every year of effective ceasefire, the total of 100 years would be reduced by one year. For any year of ceasefire violation, the contract would be extended by one year. In other words, the agreement would be as short as 50 years and as long as 200 years, based on performance.

The territorial resolution would be regional and based on the concept of a condominium: a unit of common interest—water, security, and access—and individual sovereignties. The boundaries of such a condominium (perhaps called “Eastern Mediterranean Union”) would include present-day Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, Gaza, the Sinai Peninsula, and Lebanon. 

For the condominium model to succeed, it must be based on an agreed-upon “Education Charter” and a “Master Plan of Construction and Economic Development” to be adjusted periodically, taking into consideration changes in science and technology.

Education

The Education Charter would be mandatory for all members, separated from political, ideological and religious dogma, and geared toward scientific, technological, and artistic development. Distinctive cultural education, Arab and Jewish, would be inclusive of mutual knowledge and based on respect and tolerance of differences. 

Construction

Construction can be divided into three categories: 1. Interdependent, which shall include the use and development of water, energy, mobility, and industrial production, 2. Joint work on common-goal projects, and 3. International redevelopment, which may include a bullet train around the Mediterranean Sea, freeways linking Africa, the Persian Gulf, and Eastern Europe through the region, and the development of artificial islands accommodating millions of residents and inclusive of deep-water ports and international airports.

Two Precedents

One-hundred-year agreements are not common, but two precedents have been successful: the Panama Canal and Hong Kong. In 1904 the United States took over the canal project from France and it officially opened in 1914. The U.S. continued to control the Panama Canal Zone until 1977. After a period of joint American–Panamanian control, the canal was taken over by the Panamanian government in 1999.         

The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China took place in July 1997. It marked the expiration of British rule in Hong Kong at the termination of a 99-year lease agreed upon in 1898. The negotiation was long and complicated, but the agreement was executed.

Summary

Any solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict needs to address cultural, territorial, and economic differences. The road to real peace can go through a 100-year ceasefire marked by benchmarks of achievements that are rewarded or by violations that are punished. Ultimately, human interaction between former enemies can become the real glue of social, cultural, and economic development.         

Rick Meghiddo is a realtor on the Westside. He practiced architecture and urban design for four decades and produced over 30 architecture documentaries. In 1998 he headed the Technion’s delegation to the first (and only) urban design workshop for Israeli, Palestinian, and Italian architects in Palermo, Sicily. Born in Argentina, he lived in Rome for seven years and has divided most of his life between Los Angeles and Tel Aviv. 

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