Time to Negotiate the Northern and Southern Sectors of
the Israeli-West Bank Border
January 28, 2012
At their meeting in Amman on January 26, Israeli envoy Yitzak Molcho reportedly told Palestinian officials that Israel would propose a border along the separation barrier, thus expanding the territory of Israel to include settlements west of that wall. This was the first indication by Israel of where it wanted to map the border. It was a notable development, coming on the day that was widely viewed as the Quartet’s deadline for both sides to submit proposals on borders and security.
The Israeli proposal would slice 10 percent off the West Bank, or 9 percent of the occupied territory of the West Bank and Gaza. That is quite far from the Palestinian proposal, presented in November, which would give Israel 1.9 percent of the West Bank for Jewish settlement blocs in return for territory elsewhere. Our Citizens Proposal also provides 1.9 percent to accommodate Jewish settlements in return for territorial exchanges.
Now that both sides have offered their initial proposals for a border, it is time to begin meaningful negotiations. The Palestinians will want East Jerusalem. But as noted elsewhere, Jerusalem is a tough nut to crack, and negotiators would do well to move in two steps: first agree on the border for the northern and southern West Bank, and then move on to Jerusalem.
Why? For one thing, the issues around the West Bank are easier to solve than Jerusalem. Hence a successful negotiation there would build confidence to tackle the more difficult problem of creating a border in the holy city. Second, the Palestinians currently have the meandering separation barrier looming over their heads, which poses an existential threat to their very existence as a viable state. Once they are satisfied that the borders for the West Bank apart from Jerusalem will provide them with a contiguous state, they can breathe easier and begin to feel confidence and calm. Then they will be in a better emotional state from which to begin the difficult work of negotiating their claims and Israeli counter-claims regarding Jerusalem.
The settlement of Ariel, and Highway 5 that runs east-west connecting it with Israel proper, is likely to be the first big sticking point for negotiating a border for the West Bank. Ariel is a city with a substantial population of over 17,000 and stands as an Israeli claim to land in the heart of the West Bank. With the Israeli separation wall already built around it, it will undoubtedly be included in any Israeli formal proposal. Yet from a Palestinian perspective it is their land, and the city should not exist. Our proposed solution is to make Ariel an economic zone jointly administered by Israel and Palestine. In this way, instead of a bone of contention Ariel can become a meeting place for peace and economic cooperation.
This brings us to Highway 5 and the settlements along that route, including Elkanah, Shaare Tikva, Etz Efrayim, Barkan and Netafim. Israeli planners intend for this to become a finger of Israeli land extending deep into the West Bank. The Citizens Proposal, on the other hand, would have Ariel and the zone around it become an island, like San Marino.
The main issue here is contiguity and access for Palestinian communities to the north and south of Highway 5. If Israel insists on keeping Highway 5 and the strip of land adjacent to it within its sovereign territory, it must provide for access points where Palestinians living in towns like Brukin, Salfit, Sarta and Haris can freely cross north-south. Rights to unlimited surface crossings would have to be specified, along with provisions for underpasses and overpasses. These crossing points should be robust enough for 2-lane roads, even any projected 4-lane highway to accommodate the future economic development of Palestine. They would also include provision for pedestrian tunnels, cattle crossings, nature trails and the like. There would need to be reasonable and just arrangements for dealing with errant Palestinian youths who might enter the strip along Highway 5 in unauthorized places and management for stray livestock, even as Israel would be expected to beef up security along the route with cameras and listening devices. With the support of architects, it would not be an eyesore.
Conversely, if Highway 5 is in Palestine, then Palestine would have to provide free and unimpeded access across the gap between Israel and the Ariel economic zone. Either way, this is not a particularly difficult problem to resolve.
A Palestinian offer of Highway 5 to Israel, provided there is ample provision for crossings, might be a reasonable concession. Israel would then have to offer something in return. Land in East Jerusalem, perhaps? That might be a good bargain. A concession here would place the Palestinians in a stronger position to insist that Israel let go of its claims for other settlements, such as Giv’at Ze’ev where proximity to Ramallah makes it an irritant to Palestine’s natural growth.
Palestinians will also want to press Israel to relinquish the separation barrier in the region of Qalqilya, where the barrier protrudes beyond the 1967 lines north and south of the city. They view that deviation of the barrier route as a land grab and a way to seize water rights that has nothing to do with Israel’s security needs. Further, the barrier nearly surrounds Qalqilya with settlements, notably the large community of Alfe Menashe just to its south, and causes much distress to local farmers who have been cut off from their lands. Could Israel be prevailed upon to relinquish Alfe Menashe in return for Ariel? Alternatively, if the proposal for the region around Ariel as a joint economic zone stands, it could serve as a basis for working out joint arrangements whereby Qalqilya and Alfe Menashe could co-exist within a cooperative bi-city authority.
At their meeting in Amman on January 26, Israeli envoy Yitzak Molcho reportedly told Palestinian officials that Israel would propose a border along the separation barrier, thus expanding the territory of Israel to include settlements west of that wall. This was the first indication by Israel of where it wanted to map the border. It was a notable development, coming on the day that was widely viewed as the Quartet’s deadline for both sides to submit proposals on borders and security.
The Israeli proposal would slice 10 percent off the West Bank, or 9 percent of the occupied territory of the West Bank and Gaza. That is quite far from the Palestinian proposal, presented in November, which would give Israel 1.9 percent of the West Bank for Jewish settlement blocs in return for territory elsewhere. Our Citizens Proposal also provides 1.9 percent to accommodate Jewish settlements in return for territorial exchanges.
Now that both sides have offered their initial proposals for a border, it is time to begin meaningful negotiations. The Palestinians will want East Jerusalem. But as noted elsewhere, Jerusalem is a tough nut to crack, and negotiators would do well to move in two steps: first agree on the border for the northern and southern West Bank, and then move on to Jerusalem.
Why? For one thing, the issues around the West Bank are easier to solve than Jerusalem. Hence a successful negotiation there would build confidence to tackle the more difficult problem of creating a border in the holy city. Second, the Palestinians currently have the meandering separation barrier looming over their heads, which poses an existential threat to their very existence as a viable state. Once they are satisfied that the borders for the West Bank apart from Jerusalem will provide them with a contiguous state, they can breathe easier and begin to feel confidence and calm. Then they will be in a better emotional state from which to begin the difficult work of negotiating their claims and Israeli counter-claims regarding Jerusalem.
The settlement of Ariel, and Highway 5 that runs east-west connecting it with Israel proper, is likely to be the first big sticking point for negotiating a border for the West Bank. Ariel is a city with a substantial population of over 17,000 and stands as an Israeli claim to land in the heart of the West Bank. With the Israeli separation wall already built around it, it will undoubtedly be included in any Israeli formal proposal. Yet from a Palestinian perspective it is their land, and the city should not exist. Our proposed solution is to make Ariel an economic zone jointly administered by Israel and Palestine. In this way, instead of a bone of contention Ariel can become a meeting place for peace and economic cooperation.
This brings us to Highway 5 and the settlements along that route, including Elkanah, Shaare Tikva, Etz Efrayim, Barkan and Netafim. Israeli planners intend for this to become a finger of Israeli land extending deep into the West Bank. The Citizens Proposal, on the other hand, would have Ariel and the zone around it become an island, like San Marino.
The main issue here is contiguity and access for Palestinian communities to the north and south of Highway 5. If Israel insists on keeping Highway 5 and the strip of land adjacent to it within its sovereign territory, it must provide for access points where Palestinians living in towns like Brukin, Salfit, Sarta and Haris can freely cross north-south. Rights to unlimited surface crossings would have to be specified, along with provisions for underpasses and overpasses. These crossing points should be robust enough for 2-lane roads, even any projected 4-lane highway to accommodate the future economic development of Palestine. They would also include provision for pedestrian tunnels, cattle crossings, nature trails and the like. There would need to be reasonable and just arrangements for dealing with errant Palestinian youths who might enter the strip along Highway 5 in unauthorized places and management for stray livestock, even as Israel would be expected to beef up security along the route with cameras and listening devices. With the support of architects, it would not be an eyesore.
Conversely, if Highway 5 is in Palestine, then Palestine would have to provide free and unimpeded access across the gap between Israel and the Ariel economic zone. Either way, this is not a particularly difficult problem to resolve.
A Palestinian offer of Highway 5 to Israel, provided there is ample provision for crossings, might be a reasonable concession. Israel would then have to offer something in return. Land in East Jerusalem, perhaps? That might be a good bargain. A concession here would place the Palestinians in a stronger position to insist that Israel let go of its claims for other settlements, such as Giv’at Ze’ev where proximity to Ramallah makes it an irritant to Palestine’s natural growth.
Palestinians will also want to press Israel to relinquish the separation barrier in the region of Qalqilya, where the barrier protrudes beyond the 1967 lines north and south of the city. They view that deviation of the barrier route as a land grab and a way to seize water rights that has nothing to do with Israel’s security needs. Further, the barrier nearly surrounds Qalqilya with settlements, notably the large community of Alfe Menashe just to its south, and causes much distress to local farmers who have been cut off from their lands. Could Israel be prevailed upon to relinquish Alfe Menashe in return for Ariel? Alternatively, if the proposal for the region around Ariel as a joint economic zone stands, it could serve as a basis for working out joint arrangements whereby Qalqilya and Alfe Menashe could co-exist within a cooperative bi-city authority.
The Northern Sector of the West Bank Border to Be Negotiated
Palestinians need to research which settlements Israel will fight for the hardest and which ones they will be more willing to concede. It is not only a matter of geography, but also the motivations of the settlers. Settlers motivated by strong nationalistic or religious fervor will be more demanding of the Israeli government’s attention and more politically potent in pressing their case. (Ariel is a case in point, whose founders believed they were contributing to national defense by creating a bulwark against an invader from the east.) These settlements will be more difficult to dislodge. On the other hand, Israelis who moved to bedroom communities in the West Bank for economic reasons may not wish to resist if they are forced to relocate. They are more likely to seek compensation for their loss, and some will continue to maintain friendships with Palestinian neighbors.
By the same token, Israeli negotiators need to take into account where Palestinian passions lie. There are Palestinians who would die to defend their claim in East Jerusalem. But they are unlikely to argue strongly for the Etzion Bloc and may not wish to put up much of a fuss if Israel were to propose annexing Wadi Fukin, a quiet agricultural community in the valley northwest of Beitar Ilit.
The Southern Sector of the West Bank Border to Be Negotiated
In sum, let the Israelis and Palestinians get down to negotiating the
border. Let them begin with the border with the West Bank north and
south of Jerusalem. There, Ariel and the Highway 5 corridor will be the
biggest bone of contention. It should not be difficult to resolve,
however, and doing so will create momentum and good will for moving to
the more difficult piece: Jerusalem itself.
