The son of Yitzhak Rabin and businessman Koby Huberman presented a plan in response to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, Haaretz said quoting a source on Friday.Yuval Rabin, the son of late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and businessman and social activist Koby Huberman, presented a proposal advocating for the Israeli Peace Initiative. The proposal is intended to be a response to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, wherein a Palestinian a state is created based on 1967 borders and Jerusalem functions as home of two capitals.
The two initiators of the new peace plan suggest that, instead of responding to the Israeli Peace Initiative, Tel Aviv should say ‘yes’ by presenting a parallel proposal to end the conflict, the IPI precisely.
Rabin and Huberman reportedly spent many months promoting the IPI amongst political leaders, academics, and businessmen in Israel. Meantime, the two unofficially tested the reaction of Palestinian and Arab figures to the initiative.
The IPI, discussed by Rabin and Huberman in an article appeared in the Web site bitterlemons.org, will be soon published in English, Hebrew, and Arabic. The proposal enshrines the following principles:
1. A viable Palestinian state established on the 1967 borders and land exchanges
2. Jerusalem serving as the home of two capitals, with special arrangements in the holy basin
3. An agreed solution to the question of refugees inside the Palestinian state (with symbolic exceptions)
4. Mutual recognition of the national identities of the two states as the outcome of peace negotiations but not as a prerequisite
5. Reiteration of the principles emphasizing Israel’s 1948 declaration of independence with regard to civic equality for its Arab citizens
6. Long-term security plans with international components.
In relation to Syria, the IPI states that the end-of-conflict scenario include ‘phased withdrawals from the Golan Heights to finally reach the 1967 borders with one-on-one land swaps, coupled with tight security arrangements to curb terrorists and paramilitary organizations.’
With regards to Lebanon, it can be read: ‘the scenario articulates mainly security arrangements, as international borders have already been established. The other three IPI components present regional security mechanisms addressing common regional threats, a vision for regional economic development, and parallel evolution toward regional recognition and normal ties.’
Prior to the previous elections, Yuval Rabin told Benjamin Netanyahu that he didn’t exclude the possibility to vote for him in the post of prime minister, and backed Netanyahu’s plans to set up a unity government. Nonetheless, alternative peace initiative may reveal Rabin’s disappointment with Netanyahu’s current policies.
