Citizens Proposal for a Border between Israel and Palestine
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    • Culture and Identity
    • Land Transfer
    • Right of Return
    • Gaza
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    • Jewish Settlers: Those Who Return and Those Who Remain within Palestine
    • Arab Communities within Israel
    • Legal Protections, Human Rights and the International Community
  • Maps
    • Overview Map
    • Northern West Bank
    • North Jerusalem
    • Jerusalem -- Eastern Areas of Focus
    • Ma’ale Adumim, E-1 and Access
    • South Jerusalem
    • Southern West Bank
    • Gaza and its Future Development
    • Conclusion
  • Position Statements
    • 2011 >
      • Har Homa C
      • Giv’at Hamatos
      • The Question of Recognizing Israel as a Jewish State
      • Let Us Prepare for Two States
      • Can Palestinians Recognize Israel’s “Jewish Character”?
      • Next Steps: Negotiating an Initial Border
      • Etzion Bloc Expansion: Israeli Overreaching
      • Israel’s Tussle with Europe
    • 2012 >
      • Time to Negotiate the Northern and Southern Sectors of the Israeli-West Bank Border
      • President Peres and Dr. Ashrawi: Thank You for Staying on Track
      • Playing the Victim Card Will Not Bring Peace
      • Negotiations By the Parties
      • The World Should Help the Palestinian Hunger Striker
      • ...and only afterwards move to discuss the topic of Jerusalem
      • A Question of Accountability
      • Israel Twisting in the Wind
      • Netanyahu: Too Big for His Britches
      • Netanyahu's "Israeli Comfort"
      • How Shaul Mofaz Can Jump-Start the Peace Process
      • Netanyahu on the Brink
      • Time for Taking Stock
      • Israel in Wonderland
      • Whatever Happened to the Quartet?
      • The Palestinians Want to Negotiate
      • A Time for Hope and a Call for Restraint
      • Israel Can Win in Gaza, But Not Now
      • Congratulations to the New State of Palestine!
      • Security and Borders: Both Required for Peace
    • 2013 >
      • It Is Up to Israel to Restart Peace Negotiations
      • Israel and Palestine: Changing the Terms of Agreement
      • The Knesset Bill to Increase the Number of Women that Elect the Chief Rabbis Is Important for Jewish Women
      • Proposal on Governance of the Holy Basin
      • Time for Netanyahu to Reach Across the Aisle
      • Tzipi Livni's Challenge
      • Women Should Be Free to Pray at the Wailing Wall
      • Proposed Highway through the Jordan Valley Will Backfire on Israel
    • 2014 >
      • Secretary Kerry, Please Beware of Israel’s Stalling Tactics
      • A Proposal on the Issue of Palestinian Recognition of Israel as a Jewish State
      • Proposed “Jewish State” Law a Threat to Israel’s Democracy
      • Journaling: Hope and Despair - Seven Weeks In
      • Netanyahu's War
    • 2015 >
      • We Should Applaud Herzog and Livni for Reclaiming Zionism
      • The Next Israeli Government
      • West Bank Citizenry and Receipt of Individuals of Palestinian Origin
      • What Next for Israel?
      • Palestinian statehood
      • Mischief in the Trade Legislation would Hinder Progress
      • What Next for America?
      • Could American Firms Choose to Gradually Disinvest from Israel?
      • Boycotting Israel is not anti-Semitism
    • 2016 >
      • Isaac Herzog's Diplomatic Initiative: Can This Detour Be Reframed Into a Road to Two States?
      • The Choice of Friedman as Envoy to Israel Is a Challenge to the Soul of American Judaism
      • America’s Abstention at the UN: Well Played!
      • Lapid: A New Leader for Israel?
    • 2017 >
      • Outcomes of SC Resolution 2334
      • Release the Tapes of the Noni Affair
      • Yair Lapid: A Strong Leader for a Secure Israel
      • Bill to Annex E-1: A Knife in the Heart of the Two-State Solution
      • Thus Endeth the Jewish State
      • CP Suspending Operation
    • 2019 >
      • Return to Two States
      • ​Benny Gantz Can Do Better than Pander to the Settlers
      • The Joint List Should Join the Government
    • 2020 >
      • Israel's Moment of Opportunity
      • Trump’s Unfair Middle East Plan Leaves Nothing to Negotiate
  • Resources
  • About the Authors

_South Jerusalem

_The character of the border of the eastern areas of Jerusalem is unique, because it invites and requires extensive negotiation between the two parties. Hence, we have left many issues open for wide-ranging discussion. However, once we move on to the South Jerusalem border—the first part of the segment that extends from South Jerusalem to the Dead Sea­—we have a section of border where in most locales there may be clear view toward a mutual agreement.
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_Jabal Mukabbir and East Talpiyyot

_We propose that Palestine's border can extend to the Armistice Line at the Peace Forest north of East Talpiyyot, placing parts of the village of Jabal Mukabbir in Palestine. The entrance to this area is but a narrow neck, which is now further obstructed by the settlement of Nof Zion. We drew the border to keep that settlement in Israel, but it will need a new access road to the northeast.

Residents of Jabal Mukkabir living in said area northwest of a designated line, as shown on the map below, depending on the outcome of negotiations about East Jerusalem, may wish to hold a referendum to determine if they will become part of Israel or Palestine.

The juncture of the East Jerusalem segment of the border and the South Jerusalem segment of the border is a point due south of the intersection of the unnamed north-south street just east of Abu Tor Street in Abu Tor, the 1949 Armistice Line, and the footpath into the Peace Forest.

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_The South Jerusalem section of the proposed border of Palestine begins in the Peace Forest, which forms the entrance to Jabal Mukkabir. While this forest was established after the 1967 War to memorialize a peace won by military conquest, in days to come the Peace Forest can become a monument to the bonds of friendship between neighboring peoples who live side-by-side in peace.
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_Gilo, Beit Safafa and Har Homa

_Considering that Beit Safafa is a natural suburb of Bethlehem, we propose giving it wide access to neighboring Palestinian towns, including Bait Jala and Umm Tuba. Giv’at HaMatos is largely empty at this time, and we believe that land could be used to develop Beit Safafa’s infrastructure of access. This will also require new access roads or causeways to Gilo and Har Homa, as Dov Yosef becomes a street in Beit Safafa. A new intersection at the entrance of Har Homa with underpasses and overpasses should allow for separate routes for Palestinian and Israeli traffic.

While we are reluctant to assign Beit Safafa to Jerusalem, we include an alternative border which signifies that outcome.

Regardless, we believe the border should be managed by women who bring feminine values to make for comfortable and smooth crossings and to accommodate the large daily flow of traffic between Jerusalem to Bethlehem. We refer to this South Jerusalem border as the “Women’s Border,” because it is envisaged that committees of women from both Israel and Palestine might be established, to be consulted about the arrangements for border crossings and continually involved in their management. The close proximity of Jerusalem and Bethlehem necessitates a continually managed environment, where the needs of and conveniences for women and families have a high priority amidst other priorities. These needs will not be neglected if women are regularly consulted.

The "Women's Border"

__The Women’s Border stretches from the start of the South Jerusalem section to a juncture marked north of al-Walaja, and then extends further to a juncture marked just north of Batir. The extension requires more formidable care, for here there has been a history of frustration, and womanly intervention is anticipated to promote reconciliation. We call on the women of Israel and Palestine to work to facilitate this.

It is hoped that in the future, as Jerusalem and Bethlehem and their environs expand toward the border, there will have been placed sufficient focus by both nations to assure peace. It is hoped that this Women’s Border will become a Peace Border, a border of reconciliation, and that it might also become a model for how to promote a peaceful border between Israel and her northern neighbors.
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