Changing the status quo: Will Israel ever find peace?

A Palestinian woman hangs laundry along the beach  in the southern Gaza Strip on October 29, 2023.. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS/AFP).

When I first saw that one of the several Sunni terrorist groups that had overthrown the Assad regime in Syria had said, “We’re coming for Jerusalem. Patience, people of Gaza,” my stomach turned. I thought “when will Israel ever find peace?”

Over and over again Israel has had to defend itself from people or countries which sought to  wipe it off the face of the earth. Israel would never have existed at all but for the fact that it prevailed in The War of Independence in 1948, though it lost the West Bank in the process. Nor would it exist if it had not defended itself when attacked by the surrounding countries who sought to exterminate it in 1967 and 1973. This list does not even include the two intifadas in the 1980s and the first decade of the 21st century. Nor does it include the four wars with Hamas in 2009, 2012, 2014, and 2021, or the present war with the Iran-led axis of resistance, which includes Hamas.

The problem which Israel faces is that nobody seems to be trying to find an alternative to a one- or two-state solution. Some want a one-state solution. This includes the terrorists, who want a Muslim theocracy, as well as the  racist, ultra-religious, ultra-right wing Israelis like Bezalel Smotrich and  Itamar Ben Gvir, who want a Jewish State which goes all the way from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.

Others advocate a two-state solution. In one form or another, a two-state solution is still being proposed by The United States, The United Nations, the European countries, and The Arab League. While the form of these two states differ, the underlying assumption of all of them  — that there will be a Palestinian State and Israel — is the same. All the two-state solutions have another thing in common:  they have all failed for over 30 years and have no prospect of becoming a reality in anything like the near future. Clearly, a two-state solution cannot bring Israel peace now.

Ignoring the reality of current mind sets, I have come up with an alternative. Who knows. It might even work.

I propose a four-state solution composed of Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. There would be no new Palestinian state. Each country would gain something in this deal. Jordan would be able to annex a significant portion of the West Bank. Saudi Arabia, which would not add land to its borders, would obtain trade partners, as envisioned by the Abraham Accords as well as military support from both Israel and the United States. Egypt would agree to annex Gaza. While in the short run, that would seem to be a burden, the reality is that a huge portion of the world is ready to fund rebuilding Gaza. Once that is accomplished, Gaza would be an enormous economic benefit to Egypt. Not only does Gaza have large off-shore gas deposits, but it is in a terrific location with wonderful beaches. It could easily be turned into a tourist destination like Sharm El Sheikh. The benefit to Israelis obvious: it would not only have economic advantages, but more importantly, finally have secure borders and peace.

In order to make this proposal work, a solution to the problem presented by the control of Al Aqsa, which also called The Temple Mount by Israel, also known by the Arabs as Harem al Sharif. While the parties will have to work this out among themselves, I suggest as an initial proposal that Al Aqsa remain the responsibility of Jordan and Israel together, as now. A new definition of the “status quo” could be adopted. Saudi Arabia, which already has control of the two two most sacred sites in Islam (Mecca and Medina), would have advisory input on control of Al Aqsa, but the final responsibility would remain Jordan and Israel.

This proposal is critical. Before the present war,  Israel and Saudi Arabia had made huge strides towards peace between the Sunni countries (including The United Emirates and Bahrain) and Israel through the Abraham Accords. When Iran Hamas, Smotrich and Ben Gvir managed to turn the war into a holy war. Sunni Saudi Arabia was forced to end its war with Shia Iran and became once again critical of Israel, if not an actually Iran ally. Consequently, the Abraham Accords, at least for now, are comatose. My proposal gives Israel and Sunni Muslims control over Al Aqsa. The Shia are sure to hate that, but since the conflict between the Shia and the Sunni has been going on for well over 1,000 years, that is a problem which should not interfere with peace between Israel and its Sunni neighbors.

The above proposal may only be a dream, but without dreams, it is really hard to make progress.