Vision to Reality: The Reut Blog

The Reut Institute recently published a document which seeks to support the reassessment process of the Government regarding the Israeli-Palestinian political process . The document presents the main dilemmas facing Israel and ultimately argues that the country’s political strategy should be based on the logic of upgrading the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank towards becoming a state.

A political horizon is essential for stability in the West Bank and progress in the political process. Reut recommends that Israel prefer an approach in which such a horizon is created by external parties (like the US) rather than attempting to reach agreement with the Palestinians over a political horizon (the Annapolis Approach). In addition, the document argues that upgrading the PA should be carried out within the Roadmap framework and in light of the following principles:

• Commitment to the Principle of Two States for Two Peoples and previous agreements;
• Continuing the building of the PA’s powers and capacities in the West Bank;
• Encouraging a temporary constitutional structure in the West Bank;
• Freezing the building of settlements and outposts.

According to this logic, Permanent Status will be consolidated via a series of agreements between Israel and the Palestinian state (rather than one comprehensive agreement).

For the full document click here.