A missed opportunity for Israel to set the agenda for a future Palestine

Last Tuesday, all 22 member states of the Arab League, together with all 27 states of the EU, and 17 other countries, signed a declaration in New York which – for the first time in 22 months – unreservedly condemned Hamas’s attack of October 7, 2023, called on Hamas to release all the hostages, and for Hamas to disarm and to end their rule in Gaza.

Every single Arab and European state.

But because the document also proposed a range of moves towards a two-state solution that would be led by the Palestinian Authority, and because the document explicitly called upon Israel to change a number of its current policies, Jerusalem has been largely silent.

This is shortsighted.

Diplomacy is the art of shifting the narrative in one’s own desired direction, not ignoring those who might ultimately be persuaded of the reasonableness of your position.

Here, then, is the statement which, in my view, the government of Israel should have released:

The government of Israel notes with satisfaction that dozens of countries, including all 22 member states of the Arab League, have now condemned Hamas’s genocidal attack of October 7, 2023. The fact that every Arab state has called on Hamas to release every single hostage, to disarm, and to end their control of Gaza is a clear affirmation that Hamas is the enemy of peace and freedom. The government of Israel looks forward to working with the Arab League to achieve the goals of ending Hamas evil as soon as possible. As the government of Israel has always stated, should these steps be achieved, it would immediately bring about the end of the war in Gaza and the suffering of the Gazan population.

The government of Israel further notes that the declaration signed in New York calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state that will be democratic in character and that will live alongside Israel in peace. Clearly, if such a state is established, it would represent the sole Arab democratic state in existence. The government of Israel would welcome the establishment of such a state provided that it meets certain indispensable criteria. These include:

• A future Palestinian state must demonstrate its unswerving commitment to building the Palestinian state rather than destroying Israel. It must be built by those who have foresworn any support of terror or violence.

• A future Palestinian state must recognize Israel as a Jewish state and must be prepared to live alongside Israel in peace. It must publicly disavow any aspiration to harm the people of Israel and must take decisive measures against persons who advocate harming Israel.

• A future Palestinian state must exist within borders negotiated with the state of Israel that will take into account Israel’s rightful security requirements, and the importance of Jerusalem remaining a united city.

• A future Palestinian state must be entirely disarmed (as Germany was after World War 2).

• A future Palestinian state must commit to expunge all antisemitic and anti-Israel references from its school curricula and public educational and cultural materials.

• A future Palestinian state must allow Jews to settle in and become citizens of the state to the same extent that Israel welcomes Arab citizens.

• A future Palestinian state must renounce any expectations for additional Palestinian refugees to be admitted to Israel beyond a small symbolic number.

• A future Palestinian state must join the Abraham Accords, committing itself to mutually beneficial diplomatic relations with Israel.

• A future Palestinian state can only come into being when the overwhelming majority of the Palestinian people are committed to the above ideals.

Achieving these goals – which constitute the bedrock requirements of any Palestinian democracy that would accord with the New York declaration – will take considerable time, likely more than a decade or two. Any declaration of a Palestinian state before these goals are attained will clearly be premature, because such a state would be incapable of becoming the type of peaceful democracy that the New York signatories anticipate.

The government of Israel looks forward to supporting our international partners as they work towards assisting the Palestinians to reach the point where such a state might be feasibly contemplated.