The Israeli Initiative offers a three-phase plan. The first phase focuses on a shift from warfare to rehabilitation. The second phase aims to prepare the ground for a stable settlement. Finally, the third phase outlines a negotiation process over a two-state solution as part of a regional normalization process between Israel and the Arab World. The plan was created by the Foreign and Security Team of Mitvim and the Berl Katznelson Foundation, which was established 24 hours after the October 7th massacre, with the support of the New Israel Fund. It was crafted by a group of top-tier diplomatic and security experts with decades of experience.

The Initiative stands out as the first comprehensive alternative published by Israel since the beginning of the war, which provides a voice to the Israeli liberal majority. It aims to serve as a feasible policy plan for those who have long opposed the government’s policies and its unwillingness to offer, or even deal with, political planning for the day after.

The Israeli Initiative not only recognizes the importance of a two-state solution, but also emphasizes its significance in ensuring the safety and security of both Israelis and Palestinians. By presenting a pragmatic approach and considering the evolving dynamics on the ground, this publication sets a new benchmark for future discussions and negotiations.

הפוסט The Israeli Initiative הופיע לראשונה ב-Mitvim.

Following an overview of guiding principles, the paper details recommendations by infrastructure type: energy, water, sewage, and health. Each chapter comprises several sections:

(1) Pre-war status quo.

(2) The present situation (after more than five months of war).

(3) Recommendations for immediate, medium, and long-term actions, including off-grid infrastructure.

(4) Proposed implementation mechanisms.

הפוסט Recommendations for Essential Infrastructure and Healthcare in the Gaza Strip הופיע לראשונה ב-Mitvim.

Findings and recommendations in this paper cover:
● MEPPA’s first year, which revealed a stunning level of demand to implement peacebuilding projects.
● A breakdown and analysis of what to expect in MEPPA’s second year of grants, which has a framework that makes room for significant growth, leaning into conflict resolution, smaller grants for smaller local partners, and core new audiences.
● Challenges facing civil society peacebuilding work and responsive strategies. The current environment needs this work more than ever but rising extremists fear it and threaten it.
● The role that international public and private donors and allies can play in standing up for civil society, amplifying it, and scaling the impact for conflict-sized change. Indeed, despite otherwise contentious politics and despair, broad support for large- scale peacebuilding investments continues to grow in Washington and other capitals, including the UK, Canada, and the EU.

הפוסט Amid Crisis, Peacebuilding Advances with Smart Donor Strategies הופיע לראשונה ב-Mitvim.

The framework of the simulation was an emergency international summit convened at the initiative of the United States three days after the announcement of Abbas’ passing, and in light of the relevant actors’ need to confront this new reality. The opening scenario included the appointment of Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh and General Intelligence Chief Majed Faraj as interim PA co-chairs until elections are held. It was based on assumptions regarding the existing political reality in Israel following the establishment of a new government, tensions between Israeli security agencies and the political leadership of the settlement movement, as well as instability and violence on the ground. 

The agenda focused on ways of maintaining stability in the region, steps to restore calm and a road map for future relations between Israel and the PA. Participants in the summit included Israeli and PA officials and representatives of Egypt, Jordan, the Gulf states, and the European Union (EU). The three Israeli players were Benjamin Netanyahu (prime minister), IDF Chief Lt. Gen. Herzl Halevi (security establishment), and Minister Bezalel Smotrich (settlement leadership). On the Palestinian side, the three players were al-Sheikh and Faraj (interim PA leadership), Marwan Barghouti (rival Fatah leadership) and Ismail Haniyeh (Hamas).

The simulation was conducted as part of a research project funded by the British government, but the positions presented here do not necessarily represent the positions of the British government.

הפוסט The Day After Abu Mazen – Simulation Summary הופיע לראשונה ב-Mitvim.

הפוסט Leveraging Friction: Using Israel’s tensions with normalization countries to engage them in Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking הופיע לראשונה ב-Mitvim.

הפוסט Virtual Briefing: Ramadan, the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, and the Netanyahu-Smotrich Government: Heading Towards an Inevitable Escalation? הופיע לראשונה ב-Mitvim.

Area C of the Occupied Palestinian Territories is a key hub of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict claimed by Israelis and Palestinians and left under temporary Israeli responsibility by the Interim Agreement (1995). For almost three decades, Israel has been reducing the Palestinian living space in the area and deepening its hold, managing all planning and building processes, expanding settlement areas and so-called “state lands” and demarcating “military zones” and “nature reserves” for itself. The collapse of the peace process also encouraged the Palestinian Authority (since 2009) to act unilaterally on the ground. While Israel has assumed a “piecemeal” approach and sees Area C as a vital space for settlement and security, the Palestinians have taken a “holistic” approach, viewing the area as a necessary space for a contiguous and sustainable state. The campaign currently being waged on the ground perpetuates friction and a bloody struggle over land and infrastructure, distances the chance of a stable Israeli-Palestinian agreement, prevents development and construction for Palestinians, poses a tangible danger to nature and the environment, and deepens humanitarian and legal challenges of population expulsion and relocation.

Turning this important area into a foundation for Israeli-Palestinian progress requires two types of policies – a reactive policy in the short term to prevent further deterioration, and a long-term policy of practical cooperation. In light of the new radical right-wing government’s policy advocating the de facto annexation of Area C to Israel, the pro-peace camp must take preventive measures: promote a campaign to “unmask” the government’s moves and intentions and expose the dangers of annexation as a fatal blow to Israel’s identity, security, and political and economic standing; expand demonstrations in conjunction with the overall protest against the new government’s anti-democratic policies; file objections to settlement construction and to harmful measures against the Palestinians. Down the line, Israel and the Palestinians must abandon their “zero sum game” approach and instead formulate joint systemic planning and promote positive steps in Area C: approve outline plans for Palestinian construction that were already submitted to Israel for approval, prevent crime and piracy, and promote joint projects with international and Arab assistance. These include solar power fields, agricultural and food cultivation areas, water and wastewater treatment facilities, and industrial zones. Advancing these measures without a political horizon will result, at most, in some specific improvement. On the other hand, advancing measures with a view to a political settlement – including the transfer of parts of Area C to the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the advancement of a comprehensive economic plan for the Palestinians – will lead to a real change, strengthen Palestinian ability and motivation to prevent terrorism, and make it possible to gradually advance the two-state vision based on the “Creeping Peace” strategy.

הפוסט Area C: From a Hub of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict to a Space for “Creeping Peace” הופיע לראשונה ב-Mitvim.

The Mitvim Institute’s 5th Annual Conference, In Cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung

Among the speakers: Alon Ushpiz, MFA Director General; Issawi Frej, The Minister of Regional Cooperation;
MK Ruth Wasserman-Lande; MK Emilie Moatti; Noa Landau and more.

View the full program and register here.

הפוסט Future Pathways for Israel’s Foreign Policy: The Mitvim Institute’s Annual Conference הופיע לראשונה ב-Mitvim.