Yet another sign that the two-state solution idea is over; Mickey Bergman and Amjad Atallah at Foreign Policy propose two multi-ethnic states side by side, but with overlapping citizenships. Israel preserves its Jewish character, but Palestinian refugees gain residency rights in Israel as nationals of Palestine. The same option would go for the colonists in the Palestinian state. Interesting. So Palestinian life could flourish again in Jaffa and Haifa and Lydda? Some key excerpts of their argument:
[W]hat if, within a context of a peace agreement between the two states, and as part of a comprehensive peace with all the Arab states, Palestinian refugees wishing to exercise their right of return into Israel are granted Permanent Residency Status as a means of providing them with restitution and residency? This will be an implementation of their right of return; yet will not change at all the electoral demographics and future of the State of Israel as a Jewish State.
…If a permanent status agreement resulted in two nation states along the 1967 border with two intermingled populations and a Permanent Residency Status in both countries, a fair choice could then be offered to Palestinians in Israel. They could choose to maintain their citizenship in Israel and become full Israeli citizens with all the rights and obligations that entail to any Israeli citizen including military or national service. There is already precedence for this in the case of the Arab Druze community in Israel. If they choose to become Palestinian citizens, they could assume Permanent Residency status and they (and their offspring) would continue to live, work, and pray in Israel but would vote in Palestinian national elections.
Many states with common heritages and linked economies have reached bilateral or multilateral agreements allowing each state’s citizens the freedom to reside, own property and vote in local elections in one state while retaining citizenship and the corresponding right to vote in national elections in another state. The Scandinavian states of Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Norway, through the formation of the Nordic Passport Union, allow citizens of any state to reside and work in another state while retaining their national citizenship…
In the case of both Jewish settlers and Palestinian refugees, the implementation of such a solution would need to be negotiated between the two states. In the case of Palestinians who are already citizens of Israel, their representatives will need to be brought into the discussion and have a determinative voice in any application of this principle as it directly impacts on their interests.
Moreover, in a regional context, the Permanent Residency Status offers a tool for treatment of Palestinian refugees in neighboring countries such as Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Palestinian refugees, choosing to remain in their current locations can obtain Palestinian citizenship and also be offered permanent resident status in their host countries.
There are obvious challenges to such a model but also obvious benefits. The benefits include reinforcing international legal principles while remaining true to the concept of a two state solution. It provides two powerful constituencies (settlers and Palestinian refugees) options that take into account their concerns. It secures the interests of the often-ignored Palestinian minority in Israel and the Jewish majority at the same time. It overcomes deep-seated suspicions among the two communities of each other. It prevents forced population transfers. It strengthens both Israel and Palestine as multi-ethnic states even as they preserve their national identities. It reduces the complexities in negotiating any changes to the 1967 border. Finally, it builds in a necessary normalization component between the two states as they must interact with each other on a regular basis.
The challenges include overcoming the bigotry inherent in both communities in the short term. It will require Palestinians to acknowledge the emotional (if not legal) ties of the Jewish settlers to Palestinian land and requires Israelis to acknowledge the humanitarian and legal consequences to the Palestinian civilian population in the wake of the creation of Israel as well as their ties to Israeli land. It will also require front-loading more robust international security guarantees as was done by the international community for Bosnia and Kosova.
Granted, the Permanent Residency Status is a complex idea. Much in depth legal and practical analysis will be required in developing this tool. But an Israeli Palestinian peace must bring both states into the 21st century. French and German citizens today easily travel, work and live in both countries, enjoying equal rights, while remaining true to their mother country’s citizenship despite their far more violent and destructive history with each other. The idea of population transfers, colonization, and “pure” ethnic states belong to a disastrous by-gone era.
