What would be your ideal solution to the Israel/Palestine issue?

[Sol]

I think that some of this intense discussion would be better understood if folks layed out their opinions.

[H. Ross Peron]

Utterly Idealistic: One-state solution with a secular binational  republic

Somewhat More Realistic: Two-state solution with Israel consisting of her 1967 borders plus all of Jerusalem and continguous West Bank settlement blocks (possibly with some Arab areas in Israel being ceded to Palestine instead). Palestine to be neutral, secular, and demilitarized (along with obviously recognizing Israel's right to exist)

[bedstuy]

Basically, a two-state solution, where the Palestinian government renounces terrorism and recognizes Israel's right to exist, Israel withdraws from most of the settlements and exchanges land for certain settlements that will remain. 

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Two-state solution, peaceful coexistence. Happily ever after and such.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

One state solution. Israel gets all of their holdings from the Yom Kippur War back. They get full control of the Temple Mount with religious freedom for all.  Palestinians offered Israeli citizenship or move to any of the Islamic countries nearby. All Arab countries must recgonize Israel and get their terrorist elements under control or it won't be pretty. Hamas, Hezbuallah, Muslim Brotherhood, ect must lay their as down and be put on trial for their crimes and eternally disbanded.

[Blue3]

Utterly Idealistic: One-state solution with a secular binational  republic

[SWE]

A single, unified, secular state with equal rights for all its inhabitants, both the Israelis and Palestinians.

[IceSpear]

Basically, a two-state solution, where the Palestinian government renounces terrorism and recognizes Israel's right to exist, Israel withdraws from most of the settlements and exchanges land for certain settlements that will remain. 

[Maxwell]

Two-state solution of some sort.

[nolesfan2011]

2 state solution with a permanent UN administered buffer zone. Jerusalem as an open city ie the Danzig Free State under UN peacekeeping and mandate with open and equal access for jews, arabs, christians, businesses and business people, travelers and tourists etc.

The Arab and Israeli states would be with  original 1947/1948 borders in regards to the west bank and Egypt would annex and administer the Gaza Strip as part of their country in full. Tel Aviv and Ramallah would be the capitals of these globally recognized states, and the UN would administer border crossings, a DMZ buffer and so on, while each nation would manage their own affairs.

Internationally recognized "refugees" given official status would be given the one time choice to become Israeli or Palestinian citizens and regardless of their choice they would be given reparations payments (again under international mediation). Refugee camps would close and the people would be required to settle and do something somewhere.

[Indy Texas]

BORDERS

Israel: Green Line borders with the addition of most contiguous settlements, less any land of equivalent size "traded" to Palestine, and less Jerusalem; capital in Tel Aviv
- cannot deny or revoke citizenship of Arab Israelis; must grant citizenship to any Arab residents residing in lands ceded to Israel
- will grant Palestine an easement through the Negev Desert to allow for the construction of a highway and railway linking the Gaza Strip and the West Bank; this will function in a manner similar to the transit highways that allowed West Germans to travel between West Berlin and the Federal Republic of Germany without going through East German customs

Palestine: West Bank less settlement blocs contiguous to Israel, less East Jerusalem and with the addition of Israeli land exchanged for ceded settlement areas; Gaza Strip with full sovereignty over maritime borders (Israeli Navy may not enter the Gaza coastline area without permission) and right to claim any offshore natural gas fields found in the eastern Mediterranean Sea; capital in Jericho
- cannot deny citizenship to non-Arabs residing in the West Bank

Free City of Jerusalem: all of the city of Jerusalem
- residents are citizens of the Free City of Jerusalem but may also hold Israeli or Palestinian citizenship if they wish
- completely demilitarized, with a small contingent of UN forces on the outskirts of the city; any entry of Israeli, Palestinian or other foreign forces into the City will be treated as an act of war, with the UN obligated to repel them to the best of their ability
- home rule government keeping with the city's current municipal governing structure
- head-of-state in the form of a Governor-General, who will be appointed to a single six-year term; the prerogative of appointing the Governor-General will alternate between Israel and Palestine at the end of each term
- administering of holy sites will be the responsibility of a council representing the Jewish, Muslim and Christian faiths
- after 99 years of existence, the Free City will be allowed to hold a referendum where citizens may choose whether they wish to remain an independent city; if a majority of citizens do not wish to remain independent, a second referendum will be held deciding whether they wish to join with Israel or Palestine; union with either country will require 60% or more of the vote; if the 60% threshold is not reached, the initial referendum becomes null and a subsequent referendum on the issue may not be held for at least four years

RELATIONS

1. Israel and Palestine must recognize one another and exchange ambassadors
2. Israel and Palestine must recognize and respect the independence and sovereignty of the Free City of Jerusalem
3. Israel must offer monetary compensation to any living person displaced from the present-day State of Israel, or to the children of a deceased person displaced from the present-day State of Israel
4. A 15-year Normalization Period will take effect, during which time, UN forces will be present along designated buffer zones between the two countries; the following conditions will be expected to occur during this time period:
(a) Palestine must ban all political parties from having armed or paramilitary wings or auxiliaries and take steps to dismantle any existing armed auxiliaries
(b) Palestine may not raise a state-sanctioned armed force
(c) Israel must make no attack on or incursion into Palestinian territory
(d) Palestine will be permitted to form military forces at the end of the Normalization Period if the above conditions are met

[Redalgo]

A two-state solution would be for the best, I think. Israel would have West Jerusalem as its capital while Palestine - whether secular or Islamic - would have its capital in East Jerusalem. Both would have to allow open access to holy sites. The Green Line would be used for the borders, with assurances from Palestine that the Jewish population living in their territory would not face persecution.

Israel must recognize Palestine and its sovereignty, ceasing its occupation and tendency to skirmish when trouble flares up. It must also tolerate Palestinian academic freedom, the outcomes of elections over there, lift its embargo on Gaza, allow Palestine to establish armed forces, and negotiate conditions under which Palestinians may come into Israel for the sake of finding work. Ideally, they would allow road and rail infrastructure - as Independent TX suggested - through the Negev.

Palestine must recognize Israel and its sovereignty, cease rocket bombardments of Israel, and accept the Green Line as a permanent border. It must also accept that refugees will not be going home, collaborate in good faith with Israel to crack down on terrorism in their country - including against Hamas if it does not immediate cease to support violence against Israelis, and establish thorough customs controls so as to block arms' shipments from being smuggled into the country - especially via Gaza.

The UN should put a lot of boots on the ground for at least twenty years, and take on responsibility for peacemaking so as to avoid opportunities for Israeli or Palestinian factions to reopen old wounds if some sporadic violence breaks out. Palestine and Israel need to meanwhile do more to solidify diplomatic ties, pursue cultural exchange programmes, educate with pro-peace themes underlying lessons taught, and establish a legal framework and means of enforcement sufficient to fight discrimination in both countries. Legally, there should be no institutionalized discrimination between the peoples of either side.

If Israel backs out of the deal the U.S. should be prepared to threaten it with military force - perhaps aiming to eliminate their navy, air force, missile defenses, and nuclear capability. The Arab League, in turn, would ideally be willing to invade Palestine if it backs out and divvy up its territories to member states however they see fit. Of course, this isn't going to be what happens.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

How about a Bosnia and Herzegovina solution? One weak central government with 2 states that have a great deal of power, plus a small capital district.

[TNF]

The destruction of the state of Israel and its replacement by a secular, socialist, and democratic Palestine, with equal rights for all and special privileges to none.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

One state solution. Israel gets all of their holdings from the Yom Kippur War back. They get full control of the Temple Mount with religious freedom for all.  Palestinians offered Israeli citizenship or move to any of the Islamic countries nearby. All Arab countries must recgonize Israel and get their terrorist elements under control or it won't be pretty. Hamas, Hezbuallah, Muslim Brotherhood, ect must lay their as down and be put on trial for their crimes and eternally disbanded.

This is a secular and democratic government in my scenario.

The destruction of the state of Israel and its replacement by a secular, socialist, and democratic Palestine, with equal rights for all and special privileges to none.

So you basically hand power back to radical Muslims?

[Dr. Cynic]

Two state solution, everyone goes along and gets along.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Ideal solution: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8vFfvyhstw

Realistic solution:  I don't see one unfortunately.  If Israel had pursued a different policy in the occupied territories then maybe a two-state solution would be realistic, but it hasn't and I can't see anyway Israel could hope to gain the necessary trust of the Palestinians to make such a solution possible.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

The destruction of the state of Israel and its replacement by a secular, socialist, and democratic Palestine, with equal rights for all and special privileges to none.

[YL]

I basically agree with Redalgo.

Some sort of two state solution based on (but not necessarily exactly following) the pre-1967 borders, where both states have full control over their territory and some constitutional protection for minorities.  I like the Free City idea, but doubt it's realistic.

[traininthedistance]

More or less what Redalgo said.  

In terms of hard choices for both sides: I'm willing to say that the idea that Israel should be able to annex its settlements on the other side of the Green Line and engage in unequal "land swaps" is a bad-faith land grab that kinda does deserve the "imperialist" epithet. As for the Palestinians, the so-called "right of return" is, well, an even worse-faith fantasy that ignores practicality and history for the sake of fomenting hatred and resentment.   Both demands will probably need to be scrapped if either side is serious about peace, though if a peace deal that included some limited land swaps or cash restitutions for refugee-descendants actually went through, that would of course be acceptable.  

As bleak as the prospects for a two-state solution are presently, and as much as my ideals should normally bend towards the idea of a secular, multiethnic, state... the sad fact is that any "one-state" solution here runs a far far far too high risk of either the subjugation, forced conversion, or outright slaughtering of the minority group, and thus is prima facie unacceptable until such time as religious fundamentalism has vanished from the earth.  Different outcomes more or less likely depending on which group has the demographic upper hand, of course; I should hardly need to spell out which is which (though of course this could shift with the passing of time and the changing of public opinion).

[TDAS04]

Israel and Palestine should both be allowed to exist.

Israel should be be recognized and include all of its pre-1967 territory.  Palestine should include all of Gaza and almost all of the West Bank, and there could be tiny land swaps in that area.

Jerusalem should probably be divided, with West Jerusalem as Israel's capital and and East Jerusalem as Palestine's capital.  The problem is that the Western Wall is in East Jerusalem, and it would be extremely tricky to divide the city in a way that Israel gets the Jewish holy sights, and Palestine the Islamic ones.  I'm not really sure what the best solution for Jerusalem would be.  In any case, everyone should have access to the holy sights.

Palestinians should give up the "right of return".  In return, Israel should dismantle most of its settlements in the West Bank, so that Palestine can have a decent, contiguous amount of territory.

[ElectionsGuy]

A peaceful two state solution. I don't see how we can force them to have a secular state, or to be one state.

[Mopsus]

Ideal solution? The current Israel and Palestine are united into a single state (known as "The State of Israel" in Hebrew and "The State of Palestine" in Arabic, the nation's two official languages), whose legislative powers are vested in a national unicameral legislature headed by the Prime Minister, and whose executive powers are vested in the President. Legislators are elected from one of the nation's districts (modeled on the districts of Mandatory Palestine), with the number of legislators representing each district determined by that district's population. A Census is to be held every ten years to ensure accurate representation.

The President is appointed by the Prime Minister. When the Prime Minister is Jewish, the President must be Muslim, and vice versa. In the event that the Prime Minister belongs to a religion other than one of those two, there is no religion requirement for the President. The powers and responsibilities of the Presidency are comparable to those of the President of the United States.

Equality between the religions would be the first principle enshrined in the new state's Constitution.

I have no idea how practical any of this is.

[7,052,770]

First and foremost, both sides must admit that God has no preference over which one of them gets the land.

Once they can both do that, a peaceful two-secular-state solution.

[Sol]

Ideal solution? The current Israel and Palestine are united into a single state (known as "The State of Israel" in Hebrew and "The State of Palestine" in Arabic, the nation's two official languages), whose legislative powers are vested in a national unicameral legislature headed by the Prime Minister, and whose executive powers are vested in the President. Legislators are elected from one of the nation's districts (modeled on the districts of Mandatory Palestine), with the number of legislators representing each district determined by that district's population. A Census is to be held every ten years to ensure accurate representation.

The President is appointed by the Prime Minister. When the Prime Minister is Jewish, the President must be Muslim, and vice versa. In the event that the Prime Minister belongs to a religion other than one of those two, there is no religion requirement for the President. The powers and responsibilities of the Presidency are comparable to those of the President of the United States.

Equality between the religions would be the first principle enshrined in the new state's Constitution.

I have no idea how practical any of this is.

What about Christian Palestinians, of which there are quite a few of?

Or Palestianians who speak Hebrew, or Israelis who speak Arabic?