US President Donald Trump believes that Israel and the Palestinians are playing a zero-sum game, so any damage caused to the latter automatically gives the former an advantage. This approach, and the PA's longstanding policy of rejectionism, led to the shuttering of the PLO office in Washington, the significant cut in the US aid to the Palestinian Authority, the elimination of funding for theย ย United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA,) and the suspension of ties between Washington and Ramallah.
All of Trump's decisions regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are now becoming opportunities for the Biden administration. President-elect Joe Biden is not approaching the dialogue with the PA empty-handed. He can promise to roll back Trump's decrees as part of an agreement regarding the Palestinian Authority's future actions. Thus, the Palestinians will commit to resuming negotiations with Israel; they will be required to fight push-back from the terrorist groups that oppose normalizing ties with Israel; will agree to American mediation, and abandon the idea of an international conference as a condition for negotiations, an idea that was formulated due to the US government policies during the Trump administration.
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Biden will be able to ensure that the Palestinians receive the taxes Israel collects on behalf of Ramallah and that a third party will keep the amount that Israel deducts from it over the PA's pay-for-slay policy. Receiving these funds will bring great relief to the Palestinian economy, and there will be no need for other countries to finance the large gap in the Palestinian budget.
Israel will be required to join the negotiations, with the US defining the principles of the peace agreement between the two sides. The Palestinians will have to understand that for the United States, defining Israel as the Jewish state is important, while Israel will have to understand that for Americans, any border agreed upon by both parties will be based on the 1949 armistice line.
Biden is well aware that the most difficult challenge for any Israeli prime minister is eviction of communities in the West Bank. He understands that solving this problem is the key to Israel's readiness for a territorial settlement. Agreeing on a vision of an Israeli-Palestinian confederation, as a way to bring about the two-state solution, could allow the settlers, if they so wish, to remain on the east of the future border as Israeli citizens and permanent Palestinian residentsย โ provided that such an agreement will also be possible for Palestinian citizens who might wish to reside in Israel.
The security arrangements between the two countries will allow Israel to participate in the security on the eastern border and provide a level of coordination and cooperation in many areas of life such as infrastructure, health, agriculture, environment, and more.
The conflict continues to be heated because of the demographic aspect. Biden knows it well. Trump's "gift" is his opportunity to become the person who will unite the two parties in an agreement.
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