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"The younger generation of Palestinians does not know Jews, only soldiers," says Elias Babon. "They don’t know there are good people there. The same goes for Jews. They haven’t seen Palestinians, only those who threw stones or carried out attacks."
Elias Babon, from Bethlehem, is confident in the peace plan he has formulated. All Netanyahu and Abu Mazen need to do is sign it.
Babon approached the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through education, a field he worked in for 40 years.
How did you come to write a peace plan?
"At first, I worked toward peace among Palestinians themselves. I visited Gaza several times since 2006. I founded an independent party in the West Bank, Gaza, and the diaspora. Our headquarters were in Gaza. We wanted to be a home for both the right and the left. In Gaza, Fatah members were afraid to meet with Hamas. I insisted, and they came with me. I met with Haniyeh and people from Ramallah. When I asked about the violence on the ground, they feigned ignorance and said, 'We don’t know who is causing the trouble.' I realized, belatedly, that they were fighting over money and power, and there was no real reason for their conflict."
The Plan: An Israeli–Palestinian Federation, a Confederation in the Middle East
The core of Babon’s plan is to establish a federation that includes Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip, with three political capitals: Tel Aviv, Gaza, and Bethlehem, along with a single religious capital—Jerusalem.
The plan is based on a distinction between "The Holy Land," where the proposed federation would exist, and "The Promised Land," encompassing the area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Euphrates River—Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq. In this Promised Land, a confederation of peace-seeking states would be established, with the goal of regional development.
Details of the Plan
The plan includes a first phase lasting ten years, dedicated to rehabilitating Israeli and Palestinian victims of the conflict and regional development. "Since 2005, I began thinking about this. I studied the issue independently. I developed several plans, shared drafts with others, and refined them based on feedback. I now have a clear vision."
"There are 120 members of the Knesset. They should be divided among Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank: 60 representatives for Israel, 30 for Gaza, and 30 for the West Bank, regardless of population. Major decisions would require a two-thirds majority, compelling them to convince one another."
Excerpts from an investigative piece by Yaniv Shalom, Davar newspaper,
