Ex-Israel, Palestine officials propose new two-state solution, allowing settlers to remain

Former Israeli and Palestinian officials have drafted a new proposal for a two-state confederation that they claim could offer a solution to the decades long conflict.

Although the plan calls for an independent state of Palestine in most of the occupied West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, it also includes several controversial proposals allowing the nearly 500,000 Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank to remain, with large settlements to be annexed to Israel in a one-to-one land swap.

All of Israel’s settlements are illegal under international law.

Former Israeli Justice Minister Yossi Beilin said that by taking the mass evacuation of settlers off the table, the plan could be more amenable to them.

“We believe that if there is no threat of confrontations with the settlers it would be much easier for those who want to have a two-state solution,” Beilin said. The idea has been discussed before, but he said a confederation would make it more “feasible”.

The main Palestinian figure behind the initiative is Hiba Husseini, a former legal adviser to the Palestinian negotiating team in 1994 who hails from a prominent Jerusalem family. Other contributors include Israeli and Palestinian professors and two retired Israeli generals.

Husseini acknowledged that the proposal regarding the settlers is “very controversial” but said the overall plan would fulfil the Palestinians’ core aspiration for a state of their own.

“It’s not going to be easy,” she added. “To achieve statehood and to achieve the desired right of self-determination that we have been working on — since 1948, really — we have to make some compromises.”

This new proposal comes after former US President Donald Trump’s failed “deal of the century“, which brought Israelis and Palestinians further away from a two-state agreement.

The Palestinian Authority and all Palestinian factions categorically rejected the plan for being completely biased in favour of Israel. The Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation also rejected the plan.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry and the Palestinian Authority are yet to comment regarding the new proposal for a two-state confederation.

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