A Confederation of Israel and Palestine: Devolved, Democratic and Directorial
Creation of a Cantonal
Confederation of Israel and Palestine: Devolved, Democratic
and Directorial*
(*A directorial system of government is when the
executive power is equally shared among a small group of elected or appointed individuals, ‘a
directorate’, rather than invested in a president or prime minister who then appoints the
cabinet. Switzerland uses this form of
government, where directorates or executive councils govern all levels of
administration, federal, cantonal and municipal. It is a shared system of government that reflects
and represents the heterogeneity and multiethnicity of the Swiss people. Israel's Parliamentary System, under which executive
power is vested directly in the Multi-person Cabinet, as opposed to the President
acting on the advice of the Cabinet in a normal Westminster System, can be seen
as semi-directorial.)
The Basic Concept in Summary
The 70 years of conflict between Israel and
Palestine suggests that the current system of governance has failed to deliver
some of the most basic expectations of people from their governments such as
peace, internal security, justice and self-determination. The two sides are
unable to find a solution, with little goodwill, few shared interests,
competing for land and resources, resulting in a stalemate of two opposing
forces. To break the deadlock, governance needs to be overhauled to
fundamentally alter this dynamic of
conflict. This proposed model achieves
this outcome by:
- devolving power away from the two
opposing governments with unequal power to 14 (or possibly 16) largely autonomous
cantons that will be self-determining, some of which will have Jewish
majorities, some Arab/ Palestinian and some being substantially bipartisan
(thereby collectively forming a Jewish homeland, a Palestinian homeland, and
shared homelands);
- democratic processes devised to ensure
that minority populations in cantons will have representation;
- directorates will lead governments of
cantons, so that while majority rule applies, the executive arm in most cantons
will nevertheless include minority representatives;
- cantonal representatives will come
together as a bicameral Confederation Parliament in a united City of Jerusalem as the united Confederation capital;
- the Confederation executive will also be
a directorate, with no president or prime minister, which because of the
demographic balance between Jewish and non-Jewish communities, would also be
essentially bipartisan;
- the legislature will have two chambers,
the House of Israel and the House of Palestine, based on voters’ wishes not
territory, and legislation will need the assent of both chambers to become law,
so that bipartisanship will be essential and inherent at the Confederation
level.
While most democracies have a governing
party or coalition and an opposition, this majority-rules model would be counter-productive
for the purpose of designing a system of governance for a Confederation of
Israel and Palestine that should unite rather than divide. Instead, a bipartisan executive that needs to
govern with the consent of both Israeli and Palestinian elected representatives
will ensure a search for mutual benefit, consensus and cooperation. Giving both
chambers of parliament the right to veto legislation means that demographic
concerns will have little importance, as the size of each chamber does not
affect the ability to veto. While
deadlock is possible, mechanisms can be found to break such deadlocks.
In contrast, cantonal councils being
unicameral, majority rule would apply. Eight
cantons would have Jewish majority populations and six Palestinian
majorities. (In this proposal, the
term Palestinian will be taken to include Arab Israelis, Druze, Bedouins and other
non-Jewish communities indigenous to Palestine in the broader
sense.) Majority rule would be tempered by ensuring
ethnic minority representation in most cantons, whether the minority be Jewish
settlers in the West Bank or Arabs in East Jerusalem, or Bedouin in the Negev.
Such a large restructuring of government
would be challenging and would need the support of the people. Election of candidates supporting the
Confederation would need a majority in both the Israeli Knesset and the
Palestinian Legislative Council who could put into effect the necessary
constitutional changes. Essentially,
both legislatures would need to enact legal means to join together to form the
first bicameral Confederation Parliament and elect the first Executive Council that
would oversee the first elections and transition to the new structure. To achieve this requires either current
political movements to adopt the model as policy, or a new confederation
movement to be formed.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION:
The Confederation Territory
The Confederation of Israel and Palestine (‘the Confederation’) would include the territory of Israel
and the West Bank initially;
Golan Heights would be included
subject to international negotiations and the consent of the local population. The Gaza Strip could opt in as a full entity or initially
be an associated entity of the Confederation. The Confederation Capital
would be the City of Jerusalem.
Citizenship
All current
Israeli citizens, long term residents of Israel and the
West Bank, and Palestinian refugees residing
in the West Bank would
automatically become ‘founding’ citizens of the Confederation; the Gaza Strip and
Golan Heights residents may also be included. Future rights to citizenship for new immigrants would be
granted as set out below.
Creation of the Autonomous Cantons
Based on the population figures in the annex, 14
autonomous cantons would be formed, based on current Israeli districts and
sub-districts and Palestinian governorates, so that cantonal populations would
be between 600,000 and one million to ensure administrative efficiency and that
a sufficient tax base and human resources are available. Eight
of these cantonal populations would have Jewish majorities, and six Palestinian
majorities. The cantons proposed
are named mostly related to local natural
features for political
neutrality and to distinguish from current administrative units.
Israeli Cantons
1.
Upper
Galilee, formed by the Israeli sub-districts
of Akko and Zefat, with the cantonal
capital in Akko;
2.
Lower
Galilee, formed from Yizreel and Kinneret sub-districts, with the addition of
the cities of the northern Triangle (Kafr Qara, Ar'ara, Maale Iron, and Umm
al-Fah), capital in Nazareth - Golan could be
included if negotiations result in its permanent annexation to Israel.
3.
Carmel, based on the district of Haifa,
without the northern triangle cities above, capital in Haifa;
4.
Sharon, based on the sub-district
of Sharon and additionally the cities of Hod Sharon, Raanana, Herzliyza, Ramat
Sharon and the area of Kefar Shemarahu,
capital in Netanya;
5.
Metropol,
based on the Tel Aviv district, but
without the cities ceded to Sharon and Central Coast;
6.
Central
Plain, based on the sub-districts of Ramla and Petah Tiqwa, minus cities ceded to Sharon, capital Ramla;
7.
Central
Coast, based on the sub-district of Rehovot, plus cities of Azor, Holon and Bat
Yam, capital Rishon Lezion;
8.
Sephalah, based
on the Israeli district of Jerusalem and sub-district of Ashkelon, but
excluding the City of Jerusalem, capital in Ashdod;
9.
Negev, based on
the sub-district of Beersheba, capital Beersheba.
Federal Capital Territory
10.
Jerusalem City,
including both West and East Jerusalem, but not including the remaining
non-metropolitan portions of the current Israeli and Palestinian districts of
Jerusalem / Al-Quds.
Palestinian Cantons
11.
Hebron, based on the Palestinian governorate and with capital in Hebron;
12.
Jordan Valley,
formed by the governorates of Bethlehem, Al-Quds but excluding East Jerusalem city
areas, Jericho, and Tubas, capital in Jericho;
13.
Northern
Hills formed from Nablus, Tulkarm and Jenin governorates, capital in Nablus;
14.
Western
Hills formed by Ramallah, Salfit, and Qalqilyah capital in Ramallah.
The ‘Judea
and Samaria Area’ would no longer exist as an administrative unit, and West Bank Jewish settlements
would be part of the four West Bank cantons above.
Gaza Strip
While the Gaza strip already
is in a sense an independent city state, the poverty, the collapsing
infrastructure, militancy and capacity to destabilize the confederation must be
addressed at the same time as founding the Confederation. Three options are available, all contingent
on recognition of legitimate Jewish aspirations:
·
Associate member of the Confederation: Gaza becomes an independent city state, but
with special status in access to the Confederation, such as privileged access
to working visas and a customs union and other economic advantages. The international community would have a major
role in providing investment to boost the economy. Tight security to prevent arms violations
would be maintained, until the economic
incentives begin to diminish the risk to peace.
·
Candidate for full membership of the Confederation: Gradual integration of the Gaza Strip into
the economy of the Confederation should begin as early as possible, with
special access of Gazans to Confederation employment, finance, medical and
social services. Gaza could be developed
as a special economic zone, with freedom from business taxes and reduced goods
and services taxes.
·
Full member: Gaza
is a founding part of the Confederation comprised of two cantons, North and
South Gaza, and full citizenship rights from the outset.
Devolution and Formation of Cantonal
Governments
Government function would be as far as possible
devolved to the cantons, but some functions would naturally require a
Confederation Government as below:
Cantonal
Government
|
Confederation
Government
|
Health
|
Defense
|
Education
|
Internal Security and
Justice
|
Social Services
|
Foreign Affairs and Trade
|
Environment and Water
|
Immigration and
Citizenship
|
Planning, Housing
|
Taxation and Economic
policy
|
Cantonal Law and Justice
|
Confederation Law
(Attorney General)
|
Employment, Local Transport |
National transport, Ports,
Communication
|
The local legislature would be the Cantonal
Council, whose members would be elected by proportional representation every
four years. The number of Canton
Councilors would be determined by the population of the canton, so that the
number of councilors would be calculated by dividing the total population by
50,000 (see annex). The five – seven
councilors with the top number of votes would form the Cantonal Directorate, the
executive body of the canton, whose members would assume cantonal ministerial
portfolios as above. The first elected
councilor would be the chair of the cantonal council.
The Confederation Government: legislature, executive and judiciary
The Legislature
The 231 Cantonal
Councilors would also fulfill a national role, and sit as members of the
Confederation Parliament, which would have two chambers or houses, the House of
Israel or Knesset and the
House of Palestine. Legislation proposed by the Confederation
Executive Council (see below) would need the assent of both houses to be
passed. Thus
neither side could impose its will on the other. If the two houses remain
deadlocked, a joint sitting with a two thirds majority could override any veto. Each chamber would have a Speaker who could
act as spokesperson for their community’s interests, and have parliamentary
committees to study, review, scrutinize and propose amendments to Executive
Council legislation.
A
novel feature of the legislature would be to allow candidates for election to
specify to which house they sought to be elected, irrespective of the canton in
which they are standing. This could mean
that Jewish candidates in the Palestinian cantons could seek election to the
Knesset, and similarly the Arab Israeli candidates could seek election to the
House of Palestine. Councilors elected
in Jerusalem would also follow this process and announce and be chosen for
whichever chamber of parliament they felt would serve their electors most. This means while the Councilors are fixed
geographically to the cantonal council to which they are elected, in their
federal role there is flexibility to represent their community as they see
fit. Furthermore, while the overall 231
seats are fixed, the division into Israeli seats and Palestinian seats would
not be fixed, and instead be determined by voters. As there is a larger
population of non-Jewish citizens in Israel than Jews in the West Bank, it
would likely increase the numbers choosing to seek membership of the House of
Palestine. To avoid instability, the
house to which the councilor is elected would have to remain fixed for the four
year term.
Other
options could include:
·
compulsory voting to ensure equality of representation,
and
·
instead of cantonal councilors being automatically
members of the confederation parliament, the two roles could be separated by
having two voting lists, one for cantonal and the other for confederation parliamentary
seats. The advantage would be less
burden on cantonal councilors to manage the canton as well as attend to confederation
affairs, however this distances the cantons from the confederation, and could
set up disputes between the levels of government as well as doubling the cost
to the taxpayer.
The Executive
There would be no
president or prime minister; executive functions of government would be
fulfilled by the Confederation Executive Council of seven members of the Confederation
Parliament, elected by a joint
sitting of both houses for a term of four years. The Council would primarily
provide leadership in areas of
essential state functions that cannot be devolved to the cantons. For example,
a suggested model for the essential functional roles of the Executive Council
could be the following:
1.
First
Councilor of the Confederation, Chairperson of the Council, ceremonial head of state
2.
Deputy
First Councilor, Councilor for Population and
Migration
3.
Councilor
for Defense
4.
Foreign
Affairs and Trade Councilor
5.
Councilor
for Home Affairs and Internal Security
6.
Councilor
for Economic Prosperity and Finance,
Transport, and Communications
7.
Attorney
General and Councilor for Protection of Minorities and Communal Harmony
For national
coordination of areas of government devolved to the cantons, the Confederation
Parliament could form consultative committees involving the
relevant cantonal councilors to consider policies and harmonization of cantonal
regulations. For example, in determining policies on national health
insurance, a consultative council
comprised of the 14 cantonal health
executive councilors could be formed.
Depending on the
voting procedures adopted to elect the Executive Council (for example requiring
a 60% majority or two thirds majority
of a joint sitting of both houses of the legislature to enforce a degree of consensus), the Executive Council would operate by consensus, be bipartisan, power sharing and collegial, to promote peaceful
coexistence and equality
of opportunity in the Confederation. The legislature would be where partisan politics, debate and
democratic scrutiny would be practiced, reflecting the range of opinions in the Confederation. This approach will
empower moderates and marginalize extremists of both peoples. Over
time as the shared political processes evolve and mature, the institutional
enforcement of power sharing could be
loosened. This could be achieved by requiring a simple majority for election of
the Executive Council, rather than a
two thirds majority, for example.
The Judiciary
The existing legal
frameworks would initially continue in parallel. There would be two Supreme
Courts, one for Israeli legal matters and the other for Palestinian matters. Israeli law would continue
to apply in the
Israeli cantons, and likewise Palestinian laws would apply
in those cantons. Above the two Supreme Courts would be the
High Court of the Confederation, to adjudicate
on matters involving the Confederation government and inter-cantonal disputes
and be the final court of appeal
for the whole Confederation.
The Federal Territory of Jerusalem would be directly under the jurisdiction of
the High Court for legal matters. New laws of the Confederation would also be
under the jurisdiction of the
Supreme Court. Seven High Court judges would be nominated by the Executive Council and confirmed by both houses of parliament. At least three places should be reserved
for Jewish citizens, and three for Arab / Palestinian / Other citizens during the implementation period.
Each canton would have
a system of local courts which would deal with matters within the canton.
Rights to Free Movement, Employment and Residence
All 11.4 million
‘founding’ Palestinian and Israeli citizens resident at the time of initial
confederation would be entitled to
free movement and employment throughout the Confederation. Similarly,
‘founding’ citizens would have the
right to take residence anywhere in the Confederation. Founding Jewish citizens
would have the right to live in the Palestinian cantons and founding Palestinian citizens
would have the right to live in Israeli cantons,
but new housing would be subject to cantonal approval.
Freedom of movement
would be subject to existing security checks
and controls, including where necessary separation barriers. These
internal movement checks would be conducted by a new integrated confederation police force,
and the IDF would maintain
responsibility for security
checks only at external borders. Citizens would be automatically allowed access
to any area of the Confederation, provided they pass the security checks
deemed necessary by the Confederation and respective
cantonal government. However the right to freely access sensitive sites, such
as religious places of worship, may be restricted.
Population and Migration
The right of return of
Palestinian refugees and the Law of Return for overseas Jewish populations
would be broadly maintained, subject to negotiations of annual quotas between the Confederation
government and the cantons. In principle, arrival of returning Palestinian refugees and
Jewish immigration would
be done with a target
of maintaining the current demographic balance. Cantonal
councils would be accorded the right to determine which immigrants they accept,
with the exception of the Federal Territory of Jerusalem, where immigration
would be directly determined by the Confederation government. Economic incentives could be created to
reward cantons that took a non-partisan approach to immigration policy.
Return of Palestinian refugees
from outside the Confederation would
be prioritized to those refugees
who are currently stateless (such as those in Lebanon
and Syria), contingent on
those countries making peace with Israel.
New citizens would
have a waiting period of ten years before being accorded the right to freedom
of residence which existing citizens of the confederation have. For example, a Palestinian refugee accepted
to reside in Hebron with only four years of citizenship would not have the
right to move to Metropol unless that canton consented.
Protection of Minority Communities
Jewish communities living in the Palestinian cantons
and Arab, Palestinian and other communities living in the Israeli
cantons would be able to apply for minority status,
on the basis of security
or significant cultural concerns. Applications would be made by
local government authorities to the Confederation government, and
providing consent is provided by the relevant
canton, be accepted. If the cantonal
government withholds consent, adjudication would be by the Confederation High
Court. Local governments afforded
minority status would
have the right to civil protection. For example, Jewish settlements in the West Bank could apply to come under
Israeli police protection. Minority
status would apply to local governments and not individuals. For example,
individual Jewish citizens wishing to take residence in Hebron could not apply for special police protection. Protection of
minority communities could apply automatically at the founding of the
confederation, particularly to Jewish settlements. Minority communities could also be exempted
from cantonal laws that are a significant challenge to that community’s
culture. Cantons could thus develop
cultural, religious and moral codes, without infringing on minorities’ sensitivities, thus avoiding internal ‘cultural wars’.
Initially law
enforcement and minorities protection would be carried out using the existing
Israeli Police and Palestinian Civil Police Force,
until the Confederation government creates an integrated multi-ethnic police force. The Confederation police would take over all internal security responsibilities from the IDF.
Defense
Responsibility for
defense of the Confederation would remain with the existing IDF initially,
recognizing that some neighboring states may remain hostile to Israel. Over time if these hostile threats abate, the IDF would become an integrated Confederation Defense Force.
Official Languages
The official languages of the
Confederation parliament and Confederation Executive Council and the High Court would be Hebrew and Arabic and laws would
be written in both languages. English would also be permitted as a working neutral language. Cantonal governments could
choose which official languages they wished to employ. Promotion of fluency in Hebrew and Arabic
would be a primary objective of the education system.
Census and Electoral Oversight
To avoid corrupt processes in both
population statistics and elections, it would be highly desirable that a single
bipartisan Bureau of Statistics and a single fully impartial and independent
electoral commission be formed, with the possibility of UN oversight or other
means of independent monitoring.
Final Steps
In 2048, a popular
vote would be held to confirm the Confederation as a unitary Federal Republic with a single legal
system, single police
force, single military, and the right of free movement,
employment and residency automatically extended to all citizens. If
a majority in any canton vote against permanent federation, a second vote would
be necessary in that canton to decide whether
to actually exit the confederation. If the canton votes to exit, this would
trigger new votes in remaining cantons
to again consider
permanent federation.
Conclusion
The strengths of the
proposed model of Confederation is that the political system would be reconfigured
to enforce certain outcomes (self-determination at cantonal level, power
sharing at the confederation level), and does not rely on an improbable outbreak
of goodwill or self-sacrifice by either community. Extremism would be marginalized, and the
middle ground empowered. Particular tangible
benefits to highlight are as follows:
For Israelis:
·
The
model would co-opt Palestinian support in the cause of peace between Israel and
its Arab and other neighbors to recognize the right of the Jewish people to
their homeland in Israel and Palestine.
·
Israel’s
military will maintain strong defense of the borders and current security
checks and barriers would be maintained as necessary.
·
Israelis
would be able to live anywhere in the Confederation, throughout Judea and
Samaria, and existing settlements would become legal, internationally
recognized, and protected by Israeli security.
·
New
economic opportunities arise in the West Bank, and possibly the Gaza Strip.
·
Israeli
law maintained in the territory of Israel.
·
Jewish
customs, culture and right to self-determination throughout the Confederation,
but particularly in the Jewish homeland cantons.
For Arab Israelis,
Palestinians, Bedouin and Druze and other indigenous communities:
·
Citizenship
for all existing residents and over time, those who resettle from neighboring
countries, in an open democratic society where human rights are respected.
·
Access
to employment and education throughout the Confederation, access to highly
developed medical care, social services and environmental protections.
·
Freedom
of movement and right to travel beyond the Confederations borders.
·
Palestinian
law maintained in the territory of Palestine.
·
Arab
customs, culture and right to self-determination throughout the Confederation,
but particularly in the Arab homeland cantons.
For both:
·
Bipartisan
executive government and parliamentary representation whereby neither community
can dominate the other, and instead the system will encourage seeking consensus
and shared interests, meeting in a united capital of Jerusalem, with no threat
of demographic changes causing shifts in
the balance of power.
Annex: Background and rationale to creating 14 –
16 cantons, and projected electoral outcomes
Refer to table below.
Based on the
assumption that one cantonal councilor could effectively represent about 50,000
people, and that a canton should have a minimum of 12 councilors, cantonal populations
were targeted to be between 600,000 and 1 million. Boundaries were drawn to
follow as far as practicable existing administrative areas. The average population of the nine Israeli
cantons and Jerusalem would be 831,000, the four Palestinian would be 760,000
but if Gaza is included also 830,000. Of the total 11.4 million founding
Confederation citizens, 8.8 million (77%) would have pre-existing Israeli
citizenship or permanent residency.
Voters
Eight cantons would
have a majority of Jewish Israelis voters
and six would have a majority of Palestinian
voters. If the Confederation is expanded
to include the Gaza Strip, then eight cantons would have a Palestinian majority.
Cantonal Councils and
Directorates
The projected number
of cantonal council members and their executive members are based on the
assumption that the electorate votes along ethnic lines, and for the
projections of electoral outcomes below, Cantonal Directorates are all assumed
to be seven people. Directorates that
are split 4/3 are described as bipartisan.
While most cantons would
have some degree of minority representation, most would be either Jewish or
Palestinian controlled, meaning that the essential nature of these areas as
Jewish or Palestinian homelands is maintained
-
two
would be wholly Jewish (Metropol and Sephalah)
-
four
would have substantial Jewish majorities (Carmel, Central Plain, Central Coast
and Sharon)
-
four
would be bipartisan (Upper and Lower Galilee, Negev and Jerusalem)
-
two
would have substantial Palestinian majorities (Western Hills and Jordan Valley).
-
two
would be wholly Palestinian (Northern Hills and Hebron), four if North and
South Gaza cantons are included
Confederation
Parliament and Executive Council
Assuming all Jewish
candidates in Palestine opted to sit in the Knesset, and all Arab Israeli and
other candidates opted to sit in the House of Palestine, then the Knesset would
have 132 members and the House of Palestine 99.
If Gaza is included, then the number sitting in the House of Palestine
would be expanded to 138.
The Confederation
Executive Council would be bipartisan, whether or not Gaza is included.
However this
dichotomous approach to electoral mathematics is undoubtedly an over
simplification. Arab Christians, Druze,
Bedouin, atheists, and independents would undoubtedly enrichen the mix. Jewish liberals would probably have more in
common with progressive Palestinians rather than ultra-Orthodox parties.
A LOT of thought has gone into this. Hopefully it will stimulate peoples' minds to think creatively. After I have read everything more carefully, I will comment and ask some questions about my concerns.
ReplyDeletethanks so much David, i have updated the text tonight, to make clearer the links between the proposed governance structure and the hoped for outcomes. the changes are mostly in the first page, and in the annex. I am very happy to get feedback, critical or not.
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