Free-of-Jews West Bank and the Palestinian right of return
France and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are cosponsoring a resolution at the United Nations supporting the “right of return” of the Palestinians to Israel within its pre-June 1967 borders (see, for example, section 14 of the New York Declaration from July 29, 2025). The New York Declaration – if you bother to read it – is an explicit 2-step approach, whose first step is the establishment of a free-of-Jews Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, and the second step is the implementation of the right of return of millions of Palestinians to the state of Israel within its pre-June 1967 borders, eliminating thus the Jewish state.
Why the Jews will acquiesce to this and how will this be achieved by peaceful means is left unexplained.
It is within this framework, the New York Declaration, that France (and other European countries) are giddily recognizing now a Palestinian state.
If you support the continuation of wars in the Middle East – go ahead and support the position that France has taken.
For the unaware reader: around 2 million Palestinian Arabs live presently within the pre-June 1967 Israeli borders. They enjoy full civil rights, they are represented by political parties in the Israeli parliament and even have a representative in the Israeli High Court of Justice. Those who adamantly demand a free-of-Jews West Bank, should think twice about the potential catastrophic consequences of their attitude: reciprocity could be demanded and applied.
This asymmetry between the rights of the Jews and the rights of the Palestinians glaringly appears also in the refugee issue: the rights of the Palestinian refugees is stressed multiple times, while the rights of the 3,500,000 Jewish refugees from the Arab countries, who live today in Israel, is completely ignored. This asymmetry is even exposed more glaringly in the definition of refugee: A simple 2-year residence in Palestine was enough for an Arab displaced by the 1948 war to be entitled to the “refugee” status (as well as all his descendants), whereas Jews living in the Arab countries for centuries, and then ethnically cleansed from these countries, cannot be declared and recognized as refugees.
If you prefer instead a peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, a different approach is needed. This approach was explained by the author in previous articles. A glimpse of this approach, based on the 242 United Nations Security Resolution from November 1967, is shown in the map below:
In keeping with the spirit of the 242 UNSC resolution, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip will be returned to the Arab states. In keeping with the spirit and the letter of the 242 resolution, both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip will be demilitarized.
In this proposed approach no one will be displaced from their homes: neither Jews nor Arab Palestinians.
The West Bank will be returned to Jordan. The Gaza Strip will be returned with a twist: The Gaza Strip will be divided between Jordan and Egypt, with the international border between them being Wadi Gaza (for the unaware reader: a wadi is a valley or ravine that is dry except in the rainy season.)
Reconstruction will begin, with international funding, for three main new projects: 1) Build a modern port that will provide in the future a direct maritime access to the Mediterranean Sea to the present land-locked Jordan; 2) Build an underground aqueduct connecting Gaza with the West Bank, and desalinization plants, to provide potable water to the West Bank; 3) Build an underground tunnel connecting Gaza with the West Bank, for the free movement of people and goods.
The advantages of this 242-based solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict are numerous:
For Jordan, it will end its de-facto status as a land-locked country. This will provide a significant boost to its economy.
For the Palestinian Arabs, it means their right to live in peace in their own land, the West Bank and Gaza, with an unrestricted physical connection between the two (the underground tunnel) and, by virtue of their geographic position and an open border policy between Egypt and Jordan through Wadi Gaza, they will become the natural participants and owners of a significant part of the international terrestrial trade between the Middle East and Africa.
For Jews, it will mean the recognition, by the Muslim world, of the Jewish State, Israel, within recognized international borders, and their right to live in peace in their historical land, including Judea and Samaria (aka West Bank).
For additional details regarding this 242-based approach, including its phased implementation, check the Epilogue section of the latest edition of my book “The root of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the path to peace” (October 2025 edition). The book can be read and downloaded for free at:
If you prefer a hard copy, the paperback edition is available at Amazon at minimum price ($0 royalties to the author). I recommend the free-downloadable digital edition.
