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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume. 34, Number 5. 1971
Solution 4: Israel and the Palestinians are Separate Nations:
Solution 4: Israel and the Palestinians are Separate Nations:
Any enduring solution of the conflict must be based on the recognition of the separate national indentities of Israel and of the Palestinian Arabs:
| a) | Israel is an independent nation which will resist all attempts to deprive it of its independence. |
| b) | The Palestinians are a nation and are entitled to live as they choose. |
Therefore the solution of the Palestinian problem should consist of the following steps:
| a) | Palestinians should evolve a political framework which is both representative and authoritative. |
| b) | Palestinians should seek their national and political fulfillment within an Arab context and not by seeking the destruction of Israel. |
| c) | This implies that Palestinians must be persuaded to accept and recognise the existence and independence of Israel as a necessary step towards the settlement of the Palestinian problem. |
Advantages:
| 1.) | This is a solution which seeks to resolve the conflict instead of prolonging it. |
| 2.) | It enables Israelis and Palestinians to maintain their separate identities. |
| 3.) | It is a solution based on mutual recognition of each other's different reality and should enable Israelis and Palestinians to replace a relationship based on conflict by a relationship based on co-existence and co-operation. |
| 4.) | It is a solution which will at last settle the refugee problem. |
Disadvantages:
| 1.) | Arab public opinion is strongly against such a solution. |
| 2.) | The Palestinians arc still fragmented. Extremist organisations, who oppose any solution based on mutual recognition, may sabotage any attempt to resolve the conflict along these lines. |
Is this Solution Possible?
It requires the fulfillment of many conditions, each of which is extremely difficult to implement. When and if these difficulties are overcome, this is the only solution which may really resolve the conflict and settle the Palestinian problem on a durable basis.