A 4-Step Plan for Lasting Peace Between Israel & Palestine

Both tribes need to stop arguing about history and face a few simple facts to finally live in harmony

Few topics are more futile, repetitive, circular, and infuriating than the “who got here first” and “who is oppressing whom” Middle East narrative. Not a social media thread, podcast, or live conversation on the Israel vs Hamas War begins or ends without self-ordained ministers from both tribes frothing at the mouth and screaming at each other.

I’m not going to pick sides, or espouse the justification or retribution of one group oppressing or being victimized by the other. From what I can tell, both sides have made significant blunders along their intersecting roads of endless violence, most notably Israel stubbornly building illegal West Bank settlements, and the Palestinians insisting on reclaiming all of their land.

Even when two intelligent, articulate, and authoritative pundits from both sides discuss their shared histories, and more or less agree about the mistakes made and opportunities lost, the conversation seems pointless. Regardless who seems right or wrong on any singular or more complex issue, the past is over, the present is a mess, and the future looks bleak.

A major reason the entire region has been, remains, and likely will stay such a catastrophe is due to this mutual obsession with respective origins, and the alleged rights associated accordingly. Whichever historical narrative anyone cares to believe, the reality on the ground begs the question of how everyone got here, while offering zero viable solutions.

Instead, a breath of evidence-based, incontrovertible, objective reality should be taken: inhale — the seven million Arabs living in the area aren’t going anywhere, and exhale — the seven million Jews living in the area aren’t going anywhere, either. Argue the who/what/where/when/why until all fourteen million murder each other, but these facts aren’t going to change.

Further reinforcing the simple wisdom of this existential reality is the Israeli nuclear stockpile on one side, and the proxy armies of Iran, Syria, and Qatar on the other. Mutual assured destruction is a sound strategy in game theory, but the real world is always messy, the risk of escalation is exacerbated by the fog of war, and the danger of accidents remains acute.

Dispensing of the irrelevant is a smart first step to getting on with what might actually move the needle. If this patently obvious, nuts & bolts, bare knuckle assessment of what otherwise seems like a hypercomplicated, multidimensional, intractable century-long disaster is correct, then here are a few equally obvious and necessary next steps for Israel and Palestine:

1. Israel needs to dismantle all their illegal West Bank settlements, and migrate all 750,000 Jews back into the Israeli mainland. Doesn’t matter who won or lost whichever war, the geographical reality demands a contiguous, Palestinian-ruled, independent and autonomous country — with its fragmented but politically- and culturally-connected Gaza.
2. Hamas and the Palestinian Authority must both cease to exist, and be replaced by a democratically elected governing body. Military force won’t destroy Hamas, because they are as much an ideology as a militant group. The current bombing and invasion of Gaza is a fail; Israel must take its own steps toward peace, starting in the West Bank.
3. Israel needs to honestly commit to a two-state solution, and the Palestinians must accept they will rule only 22% of the land. Doesn’t matter who won or lost whichever war, that’s how the map is laid out: the West Bank and Gaza are “Palestine,” and the rest is “Israel” — end of story. Just as Israel governs itself, so, too, must Palestine govern itself.
4. Israel and Palestine must facilitate and encourage trade and tourism between their respective countries. How porous or impermeable their boundaries become is debatable, but sustainable peace demands a continuous exchange of commerce, ideas, and opportunities. If the inevitablity of coexistence is accepted, then these happen organically.

I’m no expert, but to me these four steps are necessary and straightforward if peace is ever to happen and last in the region. Are they easy to implement? Of course not, or they would already have been done. But after decades of progressively worsening cycles of violence, both tribes might finally be ready to make decisions as overdue as they are difficult.

Poisoning the peace process and driving the ongoing conflict is the lingering stench of history. Further churning the rot is the core belief held by Jews and Arabs that the Holy Land should be entirely theirs. Only by making the bold but simple leap into accepting the undeniable and unalterable reality that both tribes are here to stay, progress can be made.

These four steps to peace might seem logical, and even inevitable, but they disintegrate into armchair punditry without immediate, pragmatic, and prescriptive recommendations. Since Israel is currently in the driver’s seat far as the war goes, the onus is on their leadership to steer the course of the pathway ahead. That all said, here’s what Israel needs to do tomorrow:

1. Stop the bombing and invasion of Gaza. Hamas has been winning the Information War since October 8th, the IDF is already in an urban guerilla quagmire, and the strategy is devoid of endgame. Retribution for the 1,200 dead is already 20x, mission accomplished. Pull out, fortify the borders, and account for the errors that made Israel so vulnerable.
2. Get rid of Netanyahu and all his cronies. The list is long of Yahoo’s mistakes, including playing Hamas against the Palestinian Authority, shifting force strength to protect the illegal settlements, and torpedoing any belief in, and negotiations toward, a two-state reality. Since the Gaza war should be over, Israel won’t need a wartime leader. Bibi, begone!
3. Hold elections and mandate this 4-Step solution as policy. Let the Israeli people vote in a new government, but with the proviso that they implement the necessary steps outlined above, starting with migrating all 750,000 Jews from the West Bank. That sounds extreme, but if Jews actually want lasting peace, that’s a relatively small price to pay.
4. Approach Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and other sympathetic Arab states to help the Palestinians elect new leadership. Let the Palestinian people vote in a new government, but with the same proviso that they implement the necessary steps outlined above, starting with removing Hamas and the PA, and mandating the 22% land boundaries as gospel.

Will the Palestinians and their Arab benefactors buy into such a plan? Nobody can say, but far as Israel is concerned, none of that matters. The IDF needs to stop the war immediately, fortify their borders, and calm the entire region down. What about Hamas? Don’t worry about them for now — 20,000 people have already been killed, and 60% of Gaza buildings leveled.

Calling things “even” after October 7th, the Israelis and Palestinians have a chance to reboot. If Israel says what it means and means what it says about actually working toward a two-state solution, then those West Bank settlements have got to go. So get going. Start the dismantling and migration as a demonstration of good faith, step in the right direction.

To reciprocate such an extreme, contentious, difficult, and internally combustible move, the Palestinians will have no choice but to reciprocate. What they in turn need to do is stop all attacks against Israel, and educate their own people that only 22% of the land is the price they pay for finally having a country of their own. Truth begets trust, and trust begets action.

Given these straightforward steps, it becomes evident that the actual enemies in the Middle East aren’t the Jews vs the Arabs, but Jews against other Jews, and Arabs against other Arabs. If you think about it, the real obstacles to peace are the West Bank Jewish settlers, and Hamas leaders who will settle for nothing less than 100% and Israel wiped off the map.

What the Jewish settlers and Hamas leaders have in common is their political might. The former have propelled Netanyahu back into power and kept him there, while the latter were voted in but precipitated a civil war followed by mafia-style rule. Suffering and death of their own people solidify their authority: Hamas builds tunnels, and settlers fortify towns.

For this obvious and necessary 4-Step plan for peace between Israel and Palestine to work, the Jews must fight their own, exactly as the Palestinians must fight theirs. Israel must literally force three quarters of a million of their own citizens to leave their homes, and the Palestinians must remove an entrenched terror organization. As Hamlet said, that is the rub.

Despite such an arduous, internally challenging task ahead, I think the path to peace is feasible for both Israel and Palestine. But before anything meaningful can happen, a century of ambiguity, confusion, and self-righteousness must give way to raw pragmatism and proven realpolitik. Making things complicated has been an excuse. Time to get to work.