Camelworks

If I were Mohammed bin Salman, I would get on a plane to Jerusalem, go to the Israeli Knesset (parliament) and say the following: 1. It's time for Israel to let go of the territories it conquered in 1967. In return, the Arab world is ready to embrace it and offer peace. 2. It's time to define a clear roadmap towards a Palestinian state. Even if it takes time to implement, Israel should commit upfront that it recognizes and accepts it, and the Arab world should commit upfront that it accepts Israel and will vouch for the new state to be, at first, demilitarized. 3. Immediately, both Israelis and Palestinians will commit to reforming their education systems, learning each other's language, and teaching their children that they are neighbors and cousins who have much to gain from peace. 4. Jerusalem (different parts of it) can serve as the capital of both Israel and the new Palestinian state. Religious sites can be under international control (or the Saudis, Jordanians, and Palestinians can oversee the Muslim holy sites, as they do today in different areas). 5. The future Palestinian state will also integrate refugees who are currently in Jordan and Lebanon. Ideally, there will also be a separate plan on how to strengthen and stabilize these neighboring countries and rid them of malignant (Iranian) influences. 6. The international community, particularly the Gulf States, US, India, the EU, and hopefully Turkey as well will contribute to the (re)development of infrastructure in the new Palestinian state, neighboring countries, and for related projects in Israel itself (energy pipelines, train lines, ports). The year is 2024. Extremists from both sides are gaining power despite the fact that most people only wish to live in peace. The region is desperate for leadership, for grand gestures that build trust and shatter old paradigms. In 1977, Egypt's Anwar Sadat stunned the world by flying to Jerusalem after a bitter war and before a peace agreement was finalized. Menachem Begin, Israel's most radical right-wing prime minister at the time, shook his hand and ultimately signed a lasting peace agreement with what was once Israel's most bitter and dangerous enemy. We need our own Sadat. The Middle East — including Saudi and UAE — cannot become prosperous unless everyone in the region is at peace. Farther afield, the US, EU, and India cannot afford to let the main conflict in the region fester. It's time. The Saudi and Arab people won't forgive Mohammed bin Salman if he normalizes relations with Israel without addressing the Palestinian issue. With God's help, he is in a position to make his people happy — and make Israelis and Palestinians happy as well. Both Jews and Muslims have been victims of external powers. Both are still living with the consequences of actions they had little control over. It is time to learn to collaborate and thrive together on our own terms. Why waste another century? Let's make it so.