Beit Jalla – December, 2010

MINDS OF PEACE EXPERIMENT
A SMALL SCALE PALESTINIAN-ISRAELI PUBLIC NEGOTIATING CONGRESS
BEIT JALLA, ISRAEL-PALESTINE
DECEMBER, 2010
TRUST BUILDING MEASURES:
SETTLEMENTS
Freezing of Israeli building beyond the “green line”
CHECKPOSTS -Dismantling, turning control over to the Palestinians and joint policing.
*gradual dismantling of check posts within the West Bank in hope that there will be no remaining check posts under Israeli control within a year’s time
*the PA police force will be responsible for security, in cooperation and coordination with Israeli security forces.
*Management of the passages/check points/crossings between the West Bank into Israeli territory will be under the responsibility of the Israeli security forces in cooperation with the Palestinian Police.
*Security forces from both sides will be responsible for keeping order and security while preventing violence directed towards the other side.
THE FENCE
The Israeli delegation acknowledges that the Fence is NOT a border.
Cessation of building the fence
The fate of the fence, especially sections which deviate from the 1967 cease fire lines, will be determined in the permanent agreement and no later than within a year.
INCITEMENT
Both sides, the Israeli and Palestinian, will cease with all incitement against each other, especially on the media, in text books and the school curriculum.
EDUCATION
Both sides will aspire to
*learning Arabic in Israeli Jewish schools
*learning Hebrew in Palestinian schools
*opening the educational systems—Palestinian and Israeli –for meetings with peace activists, educators from both sides as well as writers, artists and others from both sides.
*developing joint projects in the sciences, education, media and communications, ie—a joint tv channel.
*a joint education committee will be established and will be responsible for developing and implementing the previous statements in this category.
*ending the Palestinian academic boycott against Israeli academic institutions and encouraging academic cooperation, in harmony with the progress of the peace negotiations.
HOLY SITES
*entrance to holy sites will be arranged under the supervision and administration of a joint committee that will take into consideration the religious and security needs, with the intention of enabling maximum freedom of prayer at the holy sites for all religions.
PRISONERS
1000 (one thousand) prisoners will be released immediately according to a list that the Palestinian Authority will submit to the Israeli authorities.
2000 (two thousands) prisoners will be released as soon as possible according to a list which will be compiled by a joint committee which will take into consideration the following criteria: “administrative prisoners,” ill, wounded and minors.
Gilad Shalit will be released at the time of the release of 2000 (two thousand) Palestinian prisoners.
CONCLUSIVE PEACE PACT
MUTUAL RECOGNITION
The solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict includes recognizing the right of two sovereignty and independent states—Israel and Palestine—to live in peace and security, side by side, in the area stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.
BORDERS
In principle, the 1967 cease fire lines will become the border between Israel and the Palestinian state, which will be established.
As a result of the present reality, there will be a minimal territorial exchange. The area of certain settlements will remain under Israeli control, and in exchange, Israel will give the Palestinian State the same amount of land in quantity and quality. The areas which will remain under Israeli control will not harm the territorial continuity of the Palestinian State.
Israel will be responsible to find a creative solution which will enable connecting between Gaza and the West Bank while keeping the territorial continuity of Israel and will serve the needs of the Palestinians.JERUSALEM
In principle, both delegations agree that West Jerusalem will remain under the Israeli sovereignty and East Jerusalem will be under Palestinian sovereignty.
Both delegations agree that West Jerusalem will be the capital of the State of Israel and East Jerusalem will be the capital of the State of Palestine.
Both delegations agree that the freedom of religion will be kept in Jerusalem.
A disagreement exists regarding territory exchange. The Israeli delegation claims that the demographic reality must be considered: neighborhoods with a Jewish majority in East Jerusalem will remain under Israeli sovereignty and is willing to compensate the State of Palestine with equal territory.
The Palestinian delegation does not agree to this.
HOLY SITES
The two delegations did not have time to complete discussion on this important issue.
OTHER
The two delegations did not complete discussions regarding two other issues that were on the agenda:
Natural resources and cooperation
The refugees
The two delegations hope to meet again within eight months in order to complete these negotiations and to arrive at a final agreement which will end of the conflict once and for all.