If peace talks fail: Michael Oren’s Plan B

[King_David]

Israel should consider unilaterally withdrawing from parts of the West Bank and declaring its own borders if the current peace negotiations with the Palestinians fail, former ambassador to the US Michael Oren said this week, reviving an idea that has often been raised, and rejected, by Israeli leaders across the political spectrum

Unilateralism has a lousy reputation, Oren admitted, in part following the 2000 pullout from Lebanon, but mostly because of the 2005 Gaza disengagement, following which thousands of rockets were fired at Israel from what has become a Hamas-run enclave. But the ex-ambassador’s Plan B — to be applied, he stressed, only if the Palestinians activate their own Plan B — would be different, he argued. Israelis taking their fate in their own hands, undeterred by the actions or intransigence of other parties, was the true fulfillment of the Zionist vision, he suggested.

“The two-state solution is the preferred solution. And if we can reach a negotiated agreement with the Palestinians that is permanent, legitimate and assures Israel’s security, that is of course of the preferable choice,” the New York-born historian-turned-diplomat-turned Middle East analyst told The Times of Israel in two recent exclusive interviews. “However, the Palestinians have intimated that if they can’t reach a negotiated solution with us they then have a Plan B, and their Plan B is a binational state. And I think it’s important that we also have a Plan B.

Read more: If peace talks fail: Michael Oren's Plan B | The Times of Israel http://www.timesofisrael.com/if-peace-talks-fail-michael-orens-plan-b/#ixzz2uxaewlw8
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[King_David]

1. Analysis: Michael Oren’s Plan B To Negotiations

The ‘Plan B’ that was presented by former Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Oren suggests that in the event that the current round of negotiations with the Palestinians ends without significant progress, then Israel should consider a one sided withdrawal from most of the areas of the West Bank.

While Ambassador Oren recognizes that the Two State Solution wherein a Palestinian state will be formed following an agreement with Israel is in his opinion by far the preferable end result, he has brought this concept of unilateral action back on to the table. Perhaps without meaning to, this position gives credence to those in the Israeli political arena who claim that there is no partner with whom to make peace, and that the nation’s leaders should take the initiative to solidify Israel’s borders.

The idea of a unilateral withdrawal is hardly a new one. While put into practice in both southern Lebanon in 2000 and then for the Gaza Strip five years later, the idea of redrawing the line between Israel and the Palestinians without arriving at an agreed settlement has been floated numerous times over the years. In expressing his take on the matter, Oren may have opened himself up to criticism from both the right and left of Israel. On the right, he is likely to draw criticism for relinquishing vast portions of the West Bank that the Israeli right view as ostensibly an integral part of Israel, which for many is far more important to the Jewish people than Tel Aviv and other areas inside the Green Line. From the left, he is likely to be accused of arrogance at the thought of determining the borders without signing an agreement with the Palestinians. Both sides likely view the plan as an exercise in futility.

http://www.jerusalemonline.com/news/middle-east/israeli-palestinian-relations/analysis-michael-orens-plan-b-to-negotiations-3988