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The Palestinians and the Israelis seem to agree on one thing: that the other is at fault. Both sides, either explicitly or implicitly, want recognition by the other that they are innocent victims, that the other side is wrong or has acted unfairly or unjustly; and demand that the other side relinquish crucial aspects of their identity.
Concentrating on a pragmatic approach that will benefit both peoples without impinging on the sovereignty of either the Jewish state or its Palestinian counterpart may lay the groundwork for peace by focusing on joint decision-making on non-politically charged issues. The Israeli-Palestinian Confederation (IPC) Committee believes that one possible solution involves electing a confederation government comprised of Israelis - both Jewish and Arab - and Palestinians.
The confederation government remains applicable irrespective of whether the Israelis and Palestinians live in one state or reach a two-state solution. Their respective governments are free to negotiate any political solution for the future. We believe that even if two states were to emerge, there will still need to be cooperation between those two states.
The Legislature
Approximately 10 million people currently live in the area, of whom 6 million are Israeli citizens and 4 million are Palestinians in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. Dividing the entire region into 300 districts apportioned by population should result in a legislature divided between Israelis and Palestinians by a ratio of approximately 60/40. If the relative birth rate of Palestinians to that of Israelis maintains its current trend, however, Palestinians will outnumber Israelis in the not-too-distant future.
The legislature would tackle issues that the Israeli and Palestinian governments - for internal political reasons - find difficult to address. It would also deal with the day-to-day quality-of-life issues where cooperation is required, including, but certainly not limited to, establishing public facilities such as water lines, highways, schools and hospitals.
The 300 representatives would only be able to pass legislation that is acceptable to both Israelis and Palestinians. In order to pass any legislation, the following requirements must be met: To encourage consensus and to prevent the majority from riding roughshod over the minority, any confederation legislation would require the approval of: 1) 55% of the Palestinian representatives; and 2) 55% of the Israeli representatives. The...