COULD JOHN BOLTON’S “THREE-STATE SOLUTION” BRING PEACE TO JERUSALEM?

As usual, Caroline Glick brings a lot of sanity to the question of how best to resolve the 70-year Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

(This article summarizes what I believe are the key points in her lengthy article found by clicking HERE).

Although she was written about how a one-state solution could work, she cites a recent speech made by John Bolton at the famous King David Hotel, in which former UN Ambassador Bolton laid out a plan for how law and order can be restored to Gaza, Judea, and Samaria – those areas most in dispute and where violence has become a way of life.

In short, Bolton proposed that Egypt take control of Gaza, and Jordan take control of the west bank (Judea) and Samaria (the area north of Jerusalem). In this proposal, Jerusalem would cease to be such a hot potato because Jordan already has a capital (the Palestinians debate the Jews as to who gets Jerusalem for its capital – you can’t saw the baby asunder as Solomon taught us).

The issue became a hot topic in Israel again in the last two weeks as President Trump decided to follow suit with numerous presidents before him and sign a waiver which keeps the U.S. Embassy right where it is in Tel Aviv. The move of the embassy to Jerusalem will not happen for at least another six months, thus breaking (or at least delaying) one of Trump’s campaign promises. Proponents in favor of the move like to point out that the U.S. Senate voted 92-0 to move the embassy many years ago. But to no avail.

Glick says in this article that Israel is powerless to solve the problem of the Palestinians by itself. It can’t gain support with its neighbors, Egypt and Jordan, despite favorable relations today, to resolve the issue. Why? Glick says that Israel has nothing to offer any Arab leader that would cause them to betray “the Palestinian narrative” that Israel stole the land in 1948 and should not exist. The U.S. needs to, in effect, “dangle” (my word, not Glick’s) something for the Egyptians and Jordanians to see as a worthy reward for playing ball on reconciliation.

Could the three-state solution work? Will Trump finally decide that the American Embassy’s move to Jerusalem should happen? If so, how will he justify the move? If it should happen, would it be the catalyst for another “all-out war” in the Middle East?

Glick points out that for 50 years, Israeli’s living in the disputed areas have lived under military rule. She is calling on Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו to “make something happen” to change the calculation, and at least bring more normality to the lives of those in the so-called “occupied” territories. No doubt any move that the Prime Minister makes has consequences. But the consequence of doing nothing is perhaps worse that attempting to push the ball forward.

I like Bolton’s proposal (as did the attendees at his speech). There needs to be a push to get the President to embrace a “new way forward” that drops the woefully ineffectual “two-state solution” that has failed for 50 years (since the Six-Day War in 1967) to settle the Palestinian question.

Regardless, Jerusalem, we continue to pray for your peace and we pray that our country, the United States, will not betray you by seeking to divide the land as the apocalyptic scripture in Joel warns against:

“I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land” (Joel 3:2).
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