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The Palestinian Authority should start acting like a nation
by Matt Giwer, © 2002 [June] |
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| The worst thing to do to an enemy is exactly what he wants you to do. | |
| Total land for total peace | |
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Demand Israel publicly recognize the right of Palestine to exist. Although they do not really mean it, Israel and the US have demanded the Palestinian Authority, PA, start acting like a real nation ahead of its declaration of statehood. I fully agree with that demand and recommend the PA begin acting as any other state in preparation for statehood. I have some modest and incomplete suggestions as to what that should include. These suggestions are so everything is in place at the moment of statehood. TAKE THE LEAD FROM ISRAEL IN PUNISHING SO-CALLED TERRORISTS The squatters and IDF constantly kill Palestinians. The worst punishments Israel gives are a few months jail time or community service. There is no reason for Palestine to have greater penalties. And thus it is clear such minor crimes should not be very high on Palestine's priority. Certainly they should be charged with the greater crime of interfering with Palestine's efforts to end the occupation. This should be coupled with demands to reign in the squatters and the IDF. ACT LIKE A MODERN DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT This is a radical proposition but is exactly what is demanded of Palestinians. A democratic state defines its citizens and its voters. It has no responsibility for non-citizens and cannot speak for them. It must define its source of revenue and put into place mechanisms to collect it. It must have a timetable so it can schedule the implementation, make revenue projections and thereby plan for its independent future. Negotiations None of these suggestions are open to negotiation with Israel on the grounds they are the internal matters of Palestine. The only issue for negotiation is the schedule of total Israeli withdrawal. This is extremely important for planning the future of Palestine. Territorial negotiations cannot be considered until after the 1966 border is certified as below and only if there are disputed areas according to the available records. The PA need not wish to exchange any land as the only disputes are the exact 1966 borders. Disputes over the exact border after UN, Jordanian and Israeli records are consulted will be subject to binding arbitration by a mutually agreed third party. In the event there is no mutual agreement in a reasonable period of time, the UN General Assembly will select the arbitration authority. There is nothing to negotiate here. 242 calls for Israel to have secure borders not larger borders. Retreat for security is in compliance with 242. Of course Israel will not agree to binding negotiations making the issue one of Palestinian reasonableness against Israeli intransigence. These small areas will have no impact upon the schedule of Israeli withdrawal in general but only from the areas under dispute. Thus they are off the table for negotiating the withdrawal schedule. Should Israel protest the infrastructure it has built is a reason not to give up the land, ask for a reasonable price or invite them take it with them and return the land to the way they found it. The ultimate response is, Israel knew it was going to have to leave when the infrastructure was built. If Israel didn't plan for that it is not Palestine's problem to solve. Palestine has only three answers to Israeli objections.
The most important thing first As a modern democracy the PA must define its citizens and thus its voters. This will occur in the upcoming 2003 elections. The voters should be defined as all adults living within the borders of 1947 Palestine and outside the borders of Israel in 1966. This will include Israeli squatters. It will not include Palestinian refugees living outside of this geographic area. Palestine shall not accept dual citizenship but will extend resident alien status, but not the vote, to those who register as resident aliens. Dismantling the settlements is then off the table for any negotiations. And Palestine will need the tax base. Citizenship As Palestinian refugees will not be citizens, the PA cannot negotiate their future either their right to return or their compensation claims. Rather than face the exchange of statehood for giving up the right of return, the PA takes the democratic position. The refugees are not voters so the PA cannot speak for them. Palestine may choose to repatriate those evicted from the West Bank. The rest are Israel's problem. Their claims against Israel must proceed in some other venue such as the world court. Palestine may choose undertake to represent them in all legal venues. Palestine can develop terms for their return to Palestine. At least the refugee camps would be in Palestine and UN funds would be spent within its borders. While this will not make neighboring countries nor refugee Palestinians happy Palestine will have enough of its own problems. They will likely see the wisdom of it and support it. After water resources are reclaimed there will be enough for returning refugees and give Palestine a population greater than that of Israel if Palestine chooses for all to return to Palestine while awaiting legal proceedings against Israel. As there are enough housing units in the occupied territories for some 400,000 people by Israeli standards (three bedrooms for a family of four) there are enough for perhaps 1.5 million by current, hopefully temporary, Palestinian standards. It is a workable problem. As it includes the squatters they will have every right as citizens, to vote, to stand for office and to participate in political parties if they renounce their Israeli citizenship. If they do not then they become resident aliens and subject to such laws as the PA may create. These laws may include alien resident taxes, fingerprinting, disarmament and the like. If they refuse to register they may be arrested and deported. The PA will establish voting districts based upon traditional Palestinian boundaries which will unavoidably and inevitably divide the settlements often into several parts. All the military zones and outposts protecting them will fall to Palestine giving more land for refugees. Taxes The PA must establish a finance ministry to administer property taxes and establish a currency. The ministry will establish the value of property including the squatter settlements of which East Jerusalem is but one. Starting now, it must formally attempt to make value assessments. Knowing they will be refused access for the evaluations they may speculate as to the value as long as reasonable in western eyes. Tax bills, payable in Palestinian currency, should be sent as soon as this is completed with the warning that failure to pay means the state can take ownership of the property. As they will refuse to pay, Palestine will quickly have legal ownership of them. If they should pay, there is a demand for Palestinian currency. The finance ministry must also establish a census of the population and individual income tax rates. This will apply to all citizens and resident aliens. Failure to pay will cause their property to be put up for public auction. A minimum tax debt figure can be established which only the well off can exceed. All taxes must be paid in Palestinian currency. Agencies of Palestine will regulate waste, monitor pollution and assess fines particularly in regard to the settlements. It will convert the Israeli access roads to toll roads and establish the toll fees. It need not be exorbitant but it will be a form of income payable only in Palestinian currency creating a demand for same. It will do whatever possible to make the squatters behave as good neighbors. All of this of course as publicly announced plans to demonstrate they are acting as a normal, healthy, modern democracy. And as all payments must be in Palestinian currency it will have some inherent value at least against the Shekel. Foreign Affairs This would establish all the border procedures, visas and negotiate reciprocal agreements with Israel regarding any remaining jewish Palestinians. Immediately attempt to examine border crossing posts to see what they will be taking over. It will also establish its territorial and economic zone boundaries in the Mediterranean Sea with Egypt and Israel, perhaps acting even more proper by hosting a joint negotiating conference and inviting both. The ministry will establish preliminary negotiations with other nations on the usual agreements such as trade and international treaties such as nuclear nonproliferation making a major point of signing after Israel signs and not before. Natural resources The PA must establish a natural resources authority particularly including water. Its first objective will be to determine fair prices for water used internally and exported to Israel. In the name of putting one's country first, water will be equally available for all citizens and alien residents before any is exported. Water payments will be in Palestinian currency. These will be preliminary planning prior to statehood. It will not be part of negotiation with Israel. After Israel complains, it will be directed to negotiate a price and quantity with the ministry. Israel does not permit other nations to establish the price of its exports such as electricity. Property There needs be an interior ministry to establish the rules for land titles establishing who owns which property. This will also include taxes and licensing of automobiles and failure to pay will lead to fines and unpaid fines to public auction for back taxes. This raises the issue of lack of land title for the settlements. The legitimate owners may choose to accept rent rather than eviction. But it is an internal matter between the owners and the squatters not part of statehood negotiations. If Israel wishes to negotiate a reasonable time to evacuate them, the only issue is reasonable. The time is based upon evacuation not upon the construction of similar housing in Israel. How long can a few hundred moving vans take? Refugee camps are as good for Israelis as for Palestinians. In doing this Palestine is magnanimous in permitting the squatters to stay under reasonable conditions while taking the issue off the negotiating table. They stay under conditions which are perfectly reasonable and common in a modern democratic state. While they may be evicted the matter will be adjudicated in a court under laws nearly identical to those of its most likely critics. This makes Palestine more modern than Israel in matters of ownership and sovereignty. Those are separate issues in Israel. It is also my understanding Israel has destroyed many sites relevant to early Christian history in the region. A very scholarly professor should be put in charge of raising international funds to restore them. Even where obviously impossible there should be efforts to study the possibility. This is to advertise their destruction. Legal system In general the legal system can be most easily copied from Israel. This is politically desirable as criticism of it is easily deflected by reference to it being copied from Israel. Preferential treatment of non-Jews over Jews can also be dismissed in this manner however equal treatment is desirable to establish a better than Israel stance. The foreign ministry must be tasked with publicly criticizing the Israeli legal system. The political system can be loosely copied from the Constitution of the United States or perhaps that of the State of New York because of its Jewish population. Criticisms which may be too close to being correct from Israel can be handled by reference to Israeli and US law. The squatters will also come under the Palestinian legal system which again will mimic that of either Israel or the US. (Which are both based upon the British system as is Palestine's so it is not much of a change, merely done to avert criticism.) Under this system there is no statute of limitations on crimes such as murder. While there will be an issue of double jeopardy clearly Israelis who were punished with minimal sentences or public service for murder can be retried without international criticism -- or they can escape to Israel with their families abandoning their homes to tax default. Averting criticism is a valuable tool. Consider Israel averts criticism of destroying the homes of the families of "terrorists" by saying it is a law enacted by Britain for the same purpose. Sham? This may all give the impression of an elaborate charade but it is Palestine acting in preparation for becoming an independent State. It removes issues such as the squatters from negotiations to the realm of Palestinian law which Palestine will bend over backwards to make similar to Israeli or American law. The US has model alien registration laws and with the post 9/11 modifications invasive fingerprinting and such for Israelis is quite in order. This takes much of the attention off of the security issue currently being used as propaganda against Palestinian statehood. It permits all issues to be addressed by simple reference to Israeli and/or US law. Israel will be hard-pressed to claim these actions are all a sham when it has every one of them as a function of a normal state. Fantasy? It does depend upon Israel accepting these things which is the greatest fantasy of all. The objective of behaving like a state is to make it clear Israel does not want peace but land. To every assertion by Israel that Jews will not be treated fairly the response is, Israel exists so they can emigrate to it.
Don't really mean it
Constitution of the United States
email to jull43@tampabay.rr.com
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