To summarize the main point of this series so far: an Israeli-Palestinian Peace Plan should include provisions that protect and strengthen the political rights, civil liberties, democratic norms, and good governance of those on both sides of the conflict. See here, here, and here for elaboration.
In the case of Israel, that means most voting Israelis would have to accept the Plan, which is not the same thing as liking it. I’m not interested in a Plan that is imposed on Israelis by suspending political rights, civil liberties, and democratic norms. The plan would also have to be doable given Israel’s economy and fiscal constraints. Let’s take a look at those:
Assuming the global backlash against Israel doesn’t end up destroying its economy and tax base, Israel appears to be sufficiently prosperous and fiscally sound to be able to absorb some costs in a peace plan. Not a whole bunch, though: government debt is already pretty high and and there’s a huge housing shortage. If a Palestinian “right of return” were granted in a plan, Israel simply wouldn’t have sufficient housing to absorb many new residents, except in dribbles and drabbles over a period of decades, as the housing shortage for current residents eased and new housing became available for returnees.
If the plan involved a two-state solution, establishing the new nation of Palestine would be a daunting affair, especially after the devastation of Gaza, requiring huge quantities of expertise, money and labor, much more than Israel and the Palestinians could provide. The UN and other countries would have to contribute to the project - big time.
Next: A Peace Plan.