“Breaking the Gridlock”

By The Honorable Robert Wexler, President of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace, for Heart of a Nation

Although a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement may not be within reach under present circumstances, there is much that can be done now to build popular support for peacebuilding.

Taking concrete steps to narrow the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, advance rights and improve lives without compromising security, can begin to restore a modicum of trust between Israelis and Palestinians and break the current political gridlock. This pragmatic and inclusive strategy can foster greater regional cooperation, advancing the progress already achieved under the Abraham Accords, and preserve the possibility of a negotiated, two-state agreement.

Stepped up U.S. diplomacy seeking progress on multiple fronts — Israeli-Palestinian engagement, constraining Iran’s nuclear ambitions and regional aggression, and de-escalating rivalries between Egypt, Turkey, and Gulf powers — can create a new pathway for transforming America’s relationship with the Middle East.

Such a strategy should include four sequential tracks containing a series of ambitious steps to be taken by the United States, the Palestinian Authority, Israel, Hamas, and the international community — all designed to generate momentum.

Track 1 — Reestablish U.S. Role as an Effective Process Orchestrator:

This track defines the policy horizon, resetting the U.S.- Palestinian relationship, reaffirming the special U.S. Israel relationship, and charting a regional approach that adds legitimacy to expanded efforts at normalization.

Track 2A — Improve Lives and Advance Rights:

Advance measures that directly improve Israeli and Palestinian lives and livelihoods, with a focus on sustainable Palestinian economic and civic development.

Track 2B — Narrow the Conflict:

This track addresses symbolism and narratives to acknowledge scared values, identity and dignity while finding material ways to express these elements and contain detrimental developments impacting the feasibility of a negotiated two-state outcome.

Track 3 — Consolidate Progress:

Render durable any progress toward a two-state reality and the creation of an environment conducive to the resumption of negotiations.

Track 4 — Advance Negotiation on Two States:

In an atmosphere of enhanced trust and hope, and with the involvement of regional allies, the United States should design a mediating mechanism that considers the following questions:

• What role, if any, should regional actors play in the formal negotiation process?
• What role, if any, should religious authorities play in the formal negotiation process?
• Should the aim be a complete, comprehensive end-of-conflict agreement; a gradual, incremental, open-ended agreement; or a multi-step ‘deposit’ process?
• Under what conditions should the United States develop and/or present parameters to the parties?

The governing logic of this plan is that improved conditions on the ground and narrowed political differences, coupled with religious peacebuilding, acknowledgment of narratives, some form of Palestinian reconciliation, and leverage generated by normalization agreements between Arab states and Israel, will set the stage for the United States to advance formal bilateral negotiations to achieve a two-state outcome.

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