Israel-Palestine Solutions
Jean-Pierre Petit
Research Director at CNRS
Astrophysicist
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May 5, 2002
Open Letter to Messieurs: Bush, Saddam Hussein, Arafat, Sharon.
Gentlemen,
Although I began with little knowledge, I have tried to inform myself about the origins of the conflict currently devastating Palestine and its current developments. I particularly relied on a supplement from the newspaper Le Monde dated Thursday, April 18, 2002. For instance, it states that the operation currently led by Mr. Ariel Sharon enjoys the support of seventy percent of his population. The prime minister has formed a government in which most members claim they do not wish to hear talk of an Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories, while fifty-two percent of Israelis support such a withdrawal. This situation lacks coherence.
On the other hand, in issue 1268 of VSD, one finds a report on the status of martyrdom among Palestinian suicide attacks, where they declare, "The Israelis do not have a monopoly on terror." According to this source, the Hamas movement gives $2,500 (18,400 F) to each family that sacrifices a martyr by blowing themselves up to cause devastation among Israeli ranks, particularly among civilians. Then, according to the same source, the Palestinian Authority adds another $2,000 (14,720 F) to this sum. But the most generous donor would be Saddam Hussein, who personally gives $10,000 (73,600 F) to the same family. That makes a total of 110,000 F.
Furthermore, according to a Muslim belief, the perpetrators of such suicide attacks immediately ascend to Allah’s paradise, as described in the Quran. Moreover, it seems—according to this issue of the journal—that a number of close relatives could also benefit from direct and guaranteed access to this Quranic paradise. In this article, the magazine reproduces the statement of the mother of one of these Palestinian suicide bombers, saying, "Thanks to him, we now have our place assured in paradise."
We have here reached absolute insolubility. On one side, paranoia is spreading in Israel. The current Jewish leaders resort to a "hard-line" approach. They attempt to discredit the leader Arafat, apparently without success. On the other side, religious beliefs serving as a foundation for this Muslim culture are capable of providing a practically inexhaustible reservoir of candidates for explosive suicide attacks.
I would like here to suggest the beginning of a solution. Indeed, the issue at stake is the "occupied territories" (since the Six-Day War of 1967). On one side, Palestinians demand these lands—formerly their original homeland—in order to establish the foundation for an independent Palestinian state. On the other side, Jewish fundamentalists believe these lands, as an integral part of the "Promised Land," rightfully belong to them by divine right, despite nearly nineteen centuries of absence. The Sharon faction, in turn, believes a Palestinian state cannot exist, and that in such conflicts "there can be only one winner." This uncompromising stance is likely to plunge many Palestinians into suicidal despair, which is understandable. The solution might consist in imposing the resettlement of the initial Jewish colonies established in these occupied territories by mixed couples with offspring. Instead of funding suicide commandos, we would then support these mixed Israeli-Palestinian couples by providing them with substantial family allowances. In addition to family allowances, maximum assistance would be given to couples embarking on the adventure of mixed identity, particularly in education, employment, and so on. I suggest that the UN—initially responsible for the Israeli-Palestinian problem in 1948—finance this operation. Such a solution would offer several advantages. The Jews would benefit, in the sense that "some Jews would remain in place" in these former colonies (in this case, one of the two spouses). The Palestinians would benefit to 50 percent, since they too could be present in these former colonies. Finally, we might hope that this incentive toward integration would, over time, help reduce tensions between the two communities.
Although this suggestion may seem unusual and border on "political fiction," it is ultimately no more absurd than any other. We live in a world becoming so absurd that, even without being a lingering radical of 1968, one reconsiders a phrase once scrawled on the walls of the Sorbonne:
Be realistic—demand the impossible.
Jean-Pierre Petit
Post Scriptum: If anyone has another solution to propose, it will obviously be welcome.
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