There can be no lasting consensus between stronger and weaker parties in a negotiation process. Israel and the Palestinians cannot achieve peace without the assistance of a stronger third party.
The Greek philosopher Aristotle defined friendship as a condition of mutuality between equals.* There is no equality between Israel and the Palestinians; hence, there can be no true friendship or mutuality or peace.
Jesus Christ advised us to empower our enemies by seeking their welfare. By equalizing power between friend and enemy, the enemy is drawn near and softened. This is true according to spiritual and natural laws. Balance is the flow of nature that modifies our interconnectedness.
Israel demonstrates its power over the Palestinians through occupation and settlements.
TERMS OF POWER
There are varieties of power. There is military power aggressively used for occupation. There is commensurate moral power for resisting occupation.
The longer Israel occupies Palestinians, stronger grows the moral power available for Palestinians to resist the occupation. Occupations never succeed forever. The balance imposed by natural and spiritual laws guarantees this.
Israel increasingly diminishes its moral power while it occupies Palestinians.
No living thing is powerless; if not, there would be no ultimate accountability.
EQUALIZING POWER AND DIPLOMACY
The equation for resolving the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict has thus far suffered an imbalance dooming it to fail. The United States and other international actors have added their support to the peace process, but the influence of the United States in particular has enhanced rather than diminished the imbalance of power already tipped in favor of Israel. Perhaps inadvertently, the United States has aided and abetted the failure of the peace process after decades of slow but meaningless progress.
The Hebrew Scriptures teach that peace comes through the efforts of the messiah, whose standards of power are impartiality, universality, and justice. The messiah is destined to succeed after others have exhausted their efforts.
GIVE PEACE A CHANCE
The Israeli/Palestinian Conflict needs an impartial third party to act as mediator. For this reason, I propose that the parties and/or the United Nations segregate the Holy Basin (City of David, Old City, and Mount of Olives) as a special international regime under the supervision of an independent Governor. The Holy Basin is unique to the religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Because of its religious appeal, it should be de-politicized and preserved for its advantages to the faithful.
Israel and the Palestinian Authority should agree to such an arrangement. The Governor of the independent regime should act as a third party to broker a lasting peace.
CONCLUSION
The great thinkers of history discovered counter-intuitive methods for resolving conflict.
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* Nicomachean Ethics.
