The Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza (Yesha) has formulated a diplomatic plan to take the place of the Road Map, which is considered to be dangerous to Israel's interests. Details of the new plan are sparse, and Council figures are not anxious to talk about it - but its outline calls for autonomous cantons for the Arabs of Judea, Samaria and Gaza, in place of a PLO state. In addition, the Yesha Council plan specifies that Israel will retain security control over the areas, and that neither Jewish nor Arab communities will be uprooted.
Gush Etzion Regional Council head Sha'ul Goldstein told Arutz-7 this morning that under consideration is a form of "civil administration that will gradually enable [Arab] infrastructures of education, medicine… civil rights that everyone deserves if they do not deal in terror." He said that the general public is "not aware of the existential danger in the establishment of a Palestinian state, and we are therefore planning to begin a campaign on this issue. When the public learns of these dangers, and because as of now, it's not possible to expel three million Palestinians, the public will understand that our program is the only logical option."
Not everyone agrees. Tourism Minister Benny Elon is working on a plan of his own, one that he says will be a "comprehensive regional solution to the problem." His aides say that contrary to the perception of many, the solution to the long-lasting conflict does not lie just in the narrow strip between the Jordan and the Mediterranean. The Elon plan addresses the needs of the Arab refugees from 1948, who have been holed up in refugee camps merely in order to serve the interests of the Arab countries at war with Israel, as well as those of Israel and Jordan. Minister Elon plans to present the program, which he calls "more viable and sustainable than the Road Map," to political leaders and leading thinkers in the U.S. and abroad in the coming days.
Gush Etzion Regional Council head Sha'ul Goldstein told Arutz-7 this morning that under consideration is a form of "civil administration that will gradually enable [Arab] infrastructures of education, medicine… civil rights that everyone deserves if they do not deal in terror." He said that the general public is "not aware of the existential danger in the establishment of a Palestinian state, and we are therefore planning to begin a campaign on this issue. When the public learns of these dangers, and because as of now, it's not possible to expel three million Palestinians, the public will understand that our program is the only logical option."
Not everyone agrees. Tourism Minister Benny Elon is working on a plan of his own, one that he says will be a "comprehensive regional solution to the problem." His aides say that contrary to the perception of many, the solution to the long-lasting conflict does not lie just in the narrow strip between the Jordan and the Mediterranean. The Elon plan addresses the needs of the Arab refugees from 1948, who have been holed up in refugee camps merely in order to serve the interests of the Arab countries at war with Israel, as well as those of Israel and Jordan. Minister Elon plans to present the program, which he calls "more viable and sustainable than the Road Map," to political leaders and leading thinkers in the U.S. and abroad in the coming days.