The actual roadmap to peace is NOT as complicated as the power brokers in Israel and America would like us to believe. It is difficult and uncomfortable but not complicated and impossible.
After seven decades of discussions, debates, promises, pledges, warnings, entreaties, peace talks and roadmaps to nowhere, here is a peace plan that could end the stalemate.
WE RECOGNIZE:
- the urgency to uphold the right of the Palestinian people to establish their own independent state with East Jerusalem serving as its capital, including across all Occupied Palestinian Territories as per the UN-mediated pre-1967 border, namely Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
- the right of Muslim Palestinians, Christian Palestinians and Jews to live side-by-side, and in their own sovereign state with equal rights, in peace and harmony.
- the illegal occupation and settlement expansion by Israel is one of several core problems hindering peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
- the right of the Palestinian people to resist the illegal occupation in accordance with International Law (UN General Assembly Resolution 3246: 1/29/1974).
- the unconditional and inalienable Right of Return and Right to Self-Determination for all Palestinian refugees living across the world, as recognized in UN Resolution 194 and in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Clause 13), which is binding on all UN member nations including Israel.
- all Palestinian refugees must also be fully compensated for material loss of property and for suffering, in line with international law (UN Resolution 194).
- all high contracting parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention need to fulfil their obligations under Article 1; i.e., ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances and their obligations under Article 146 to prosecute persons alleged to commit grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
No Israeli government has ever genuinely tried the one thing that everybody knows will bring long-term peace i.e., Give back the land! (unconditionally).
WE DEMAND ISRAEL:
- apply international law as expressed in the Geneva Conventions, the United Nations Charter, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all relevant United Nations Resolutions, on matters relating to the Israel-Palestine issue.
- demolish the apartheid wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and pay compensation to the affected Palestinian civilians for the damage (Opinion of the International Court of Justice and UN resolution A/ES-10/L.18).
- reverse the illegal annexation of East Jerusalem (UN Resolution 478) and cease all illegal settlement building in the Occupied Palestinian Territories including in East Jerusalem (UN resolutions 446 and 452).
- uphold UN Resolutions 242, 338, 181 and the Fourth Geneva Convention and withdraw from all Occupied Palestinian Territories, back to its UN-mediated pre-1967 border, including the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Western two-thirds of the Golan Heights belonging to Syria.
- permanently dismantle all illegal settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Golan Heights, as per international law, and evacuate all Israeli settlers from all illegaly Occupied Palestinian Territories, in line with the Fourth Geneva Convention.
- comply with Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention i.e., collective punishment is forbidden under international humanitarian law, where Israel has no right to seal and demolish the houses of, and arrest family members of Palestinian(s) killed, accused or convicted of, attacking or killing Israeli soldiers or illegal settlers.
- allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to control its nuclear program (UN Security Council Res. 487).
- end it continuous violation of Article 51 of the First Additional Protocol, Geneva Conventions i.e., the targeting of civilians and/or negligent behaviour that amounts to the direct targeting of civilians
- stop the undeterred human rights violation of Palestinian Christians and Palestinian Muslims living in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
- abolish all parallel apartheid laws, one for Arab Israelis and the other for Israeli Jews.
- stop the illegal detention of children.
- release all Palestinian political prisoners, including women, children and the elderly.
- end the daily harassment of Palestinians at checkpoints.
- stop the extra-judicial killings by the Israel Defence Force (IDF) or the Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) in West Bank, East Jerusalem and Israel.
- halt the killings of unarmed protesters.
- end all discriminatory policies the State of Israel applies to its Palestinian citizens with Israeli citizenship. Jewish, Christian & Palestinian citizens of Israel should all be accorded equal rights, without distinction.
- remove the debilitating siege of Gaza, and the inhumane and illegal blockade of Gaza .
- stop the periodic bombings of Gaza.
- avoid the abhorring use of controversial chemical munitions such as depleted uranium (long-term legacy of cancers and birth defects among civilians)
- avoid the abhorring use of controversial chemical munitions such as white phosphorus (highly incendiary substance that can burn away flesh to the bone)
- avoid the abhorring use of controversial munitions such as dime explosives (cancer causing radioactive material that burns and destroys everything when detonated within a four-metre radius)
- re-implement the AMA Agreement for movement and access to Gaza as agreed between Israel and the Palestinian Authority on November 15, 2005
WE ASK ISRAELI CITIZENS:
- to encourage their families not to serve in the Occupied Palestinian Territories including in West Bank and East Jerusalem. From reservists to young conscripts, pilots and intelligence units, this is only ethical and fair.
This will prevent Israeli soldiers from facing war crimes charges at the international court, perhaps not today but eventually, at some point in the inevitable future.
WE DEMAND FATAH:
- must not only join the International Criminal Court (ICC) but also push for an independent investigation of war crimes committed by Israel.
- take concrete steps to combat corruption and kleptocracy within the entire government apparatus, given how it is widely seen by Palestinians as a collaborator or a “subcontractor for the illegal Israeli occupation”.
- stop kowtowing to occupier Israel and its enablers.
- find a way to work with Hamas through another round of internationally-monitored, free and fair elections, one that represents the voice of Palestinians in West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.
For as long as Fatah and Hamas are divided and a democratically elected voice of Palestinians is held back from emerging, the Palestinian cause will forever be sidelined.
WE STRONGLY INSIST:
- resistance groups including and not limited to Hamas, the Qassam Brigades (military arm of Hamas resistance movement), Al-Quds Brigade (military arm of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ),Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Nablus-based The Lions’ Den, The Jenin Brigade, The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and others – denounce revenge attacks and the deliberate targeting and killing of unarmed civilians, and fully comply with international humanitarian law.
Note: According to international law, every people have the right to resist the occupier. (UN General Assembly Resolution 3246 – 11/29/1974).
WORLDWIDE:
- The activities of Israel’s Jewish National Fund (which focuses on expanding illegal settlements) in violation of international law, should be restricted if not put under sanctions.
- The finances and activities of extremist settler organisations such as Regavim, Hilltop Youth, The Temple Mount Movement, Price Tag Terror Group let alone Shlom Asiraich should also be closely monitored and members put under global sanctions. Every effort should also be made to ensure they are not able to raise tax exempt donations in U.S and elsewhere.
- The activities of legal groups like the Lawfare Project and International Legal Forum that are registered as Israeli NGOs should also be closely monitored
- Organizations like StandWithUs, Campus Watch, and Canary Mission should also be put under watch for spreading hate and misinformation.
Except organisations that actively prevent anti-Semitism and the protection of Jews worldwide, every effort should be made to ensure cogs in the intricate system of Israeli apartheid are closely monitored and none of their activities encourage the violation of international law.
GLOBAL ORGANISATIONS:
- The International Atomic Energy Agency should officially adopt Palestine as a state. Other global bodies should follow suit.
- Given the hundreds of violations by the State of Israel, leading trade organisations and global bodies should play their important part and expel the State of Israel as a member.
- This is not about ending Israel but calling on Israel to pull out of the illegally Occupied Palestinian Territories and go back to its pre-1967 border, since it continues to ignore UNGA, UNSC resolutions, ICJ rulings, the Geneva Conventions.
- Only by isolating a rogue state can we corner Israel into complying with international law.
| The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), ISO Central Secretariat, Chemin de Blandonnet 8, CP 401, 1214 Vernier, Geneva, Switzerland | The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Centralbahnplatz 2, Tower Building, 4051 Basel, Switzerland |
| The World Trade Organisation (WTO), Centre William Rappard, Rue de Lausanne, 154 Case postale, 1211 Genève 2, Switzerland | The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2, rue André Pascal 75016 Paris, France |
| The International Chamber of Commerce, 33-43 avenue du Président Wilson, 75116 Paris, France | The World Customs Organization (WCO), Rue du Marché 30 1210 Brussels, Belgium |
| The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Boulevard du Roi Albert II, 5, Bte 1 1210 Brussels, Belgium | The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), 6 Florinis Street, Mosxato Athens, 18346, Greece |
| The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Tower A, Asia Financial Center, No.1 Tianchen East Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China |
Else there is no incentive for Israel to move towards peace and reconciliation.
THE UNITED NATIONS MUST:
- consider adding Israel on the blacklist of countries that turn a blind eye to child abuse given the large of minors held in Israel under administrative detention (without trial or charge) and the number of children killed or injured by Israel over the last 75 years.
- consider suspending Israel from UN altogether, given the large number of violations of UN resolutions, since 1948.
- encourage UNESCO to vote to expel Israel as one of its members, due to its repeated violations of UN resolutions and repeated crimes against Palestinians.
EUROPE:
- must acknowledge the historical origin of the current problem started from Europe itself.
- do everything necessary to correct the mistakes of the past.
- make human rights a condition of all its cooperation with Israel.
- suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement for as long as Israel violates human rights.
- especially Greece & Cyprus should discontinue economic cooperation with Israel, including suspending the undersea electric cable, connecting Europe, gulf countries via Jordan and Egypt.
- All 74 members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament need to draft a firm resolution and urge EU leaders to support the ICC in the Hague to pursue Israel and Hamas for its war crimes.
THE UNITED STATES MUST:
- Grant full membership at U.N to Palestine (note: this would require approval from the UN Security Council, where U.S holds veto power.
- hold its House Armed Services Committee to account and urge the Senate to stop security cooperation with the apartheid State of Israel.
- stop selling arms to Israel, a rogue state given the large number of international violations committed by the country and its leadership.
- stop offering US$3.8 billion annually in military aid, to a country that is in continuous violation of the numerous UN Resolutions, Geneva Convention, UN Charter, among a litany of abuses by Israel.
- ask the U.S Department of Commerce to add Israel-based companies to its economic trade Entity List (limiting the ability of Americans to conduct business with them)
MUSLIM-MAJORITY COUNTRIES
Unless Israel agrees to comply with its international obligations, Muslim-majority countries:
- must not initiate diplomatic or economic relations with Israel
- must expel the Israeli ambassador, let alone downgrade diplomatic relations with immediate effect
- including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, UAE and others must not open its airspace to planes travelling to and from Israel
- including Chad & Azerbaijan must shut its embassies/consulates in Tel Aviv.
- including Egypt, Jordan, & Turkey must suspend military, economic and diplomatic relations with Israel
- especially UAE, Bahrain, Morocco & Sudan should pullout of the Abraham Accords, yet another elaborate subterfuge manufactured by USA
COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD:
- including member states & NGO should demand a fair hearing and demand an advisory opinion by ICJ on legal consequence of the occupation and annexation of Palestinian land.
- must downgrade Israel’s diplomatic status as a true demonstration of its commitment to justice, fairness, human rights and freedom.
- Dual citizens from Australia, Canada, U.K or America, Europe and elsewhere should not be allowed to go live in internationally recognised illegal settlements across the Occupied Palestinian Territories. If there are laws to prevent people to migrate and live in territories occupied by terror groups like ISIS, the same underlying principle should be applied to dual citizens who aid and abet the violation of international law.
- must boycott Israeli academic institutions, including major academic anthropologist associations.
PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD MUST:
- American Jews should hold a peaceful sit-in at Congress, insisting lawmakers listen to the voice of the people.
- Write to congressional representatives in the U.S, firmly demanding the removal of AIPAC from electoral districts known for its support of apartheid Israel
- Follow the footsteps of NY State Assembly (Zohran Kwame) and introduce legislation like the THE NOT ON OUR DIME ACT that stops NY from subsidising groups funding Israeli war crimes, the first bill of its kind in U.S.A
- Write to their MPs to demand the UK end its complicity in Israeli apartheid and illegal occupation of historical Palestine.
- File a mandamus court application to prevent/deny the entry of Israeli politicians visiting the West
- Stop buying products from Israel.
- Not support any Israeli companies even if don’t have any physical facilities in the settlements since they likely provide services and products to companies and residents in the settlements. For e.g, Israel’s major telecom, transport and infrastructure companies routinely violate international law by providing services to illegal settlements, and thus intricately support the illegal occupation.
- University students and staff faculty should demand universities sever financial ties with Israel
- Universities should sever links with Israeli universities that provide material, R&D and academic support to the State of Israel, that enables the illegal occupation.
In the words of Aid Watch Palestine (AWP), an independent grassroots Palestinian initiative in Gaza:
- ACTIVELY RESPOND TO MISLEADING MEDIA: Contribute to public discourse by challenging mainstream and social media coverage of Palestine that is simplistic, misguided or hateful. Media Activism Kit
- LEARN ABOUT YOUR COUNTRY’S AID POLICY: Challenge the policies that undermine Palestinian self-determination and perpetuate aid dependency.
- HOLD ISRAEL ACCOUNTABLE: Demand that your government hold Israel accountable for violations against Palestinians. For example, report the damage or destruction of assets to your country’s political representatives with a formal request that Israel be held accountable to pay compensation.
In 2023, a draft bill that aimed to imposed a 65% tax on Palestinians, Israeli and international human rights organisations was shelved after several ambassadors and embassies in Tel Aviv voiced criticism against the draft bill. This shows change is possible if we unite against what is clearly wrong.
Unless past wrongs are undone, a secure future for both Israelis and Palestinians will not be possible.