Plotting the Course to Israeli-Palestinian Peace:
Scenarios to Resolve the Gaza Conflict
Amer Albsharat, Hussein Alrafaya, Cultures Bridge for Strategic Studies and Research
Full Paper:
Plotting_the_Course_to_Israeli_Palestinian_Peace_Scenarios_to_Resolve_the_Gaza_Conflict.pdf
Abstract Part of The Paper:
After over a century of conflict, the time has come for creative reimagining of possible pathways
to peace in Israel-Palestine. This paper analyzes how similar protracted struggles found
transformation through courageous compromise. By learning from global models of
reconciliation, from Northern Ireland to South Africa, innovative scenarios emerge for Israel-
Palestine today.
Four alternative futures are sketched, each providing lessons for bridging divides once deemed
unbridgeable. From ceasefires paving the way for political progress, to unilateral gestures
signaling readiness for risky rapprochement, to transitional security architectures enabling
separation, to a phased Marshall Plan spurring interdependence - glimpses emerge of a world
where historic enemies coexist.
Challenges abound, from violent ideologues sabotaging trust to political incentives blocking
courage. But imaginative interim solutions can defer polarizing issues by building cooperation
now. And symbolic acts of empathy can seed gradual psychological shifts easing future
compromises. By taking first steps down a path of creative confidence-building, enemies can
pivot from regressive zero-sum trap to progressive win-win cycle.
The time is ripe to lift horizons beyond blamed and blaming narratives, from trauma to
possibility. Bold rethinking of the relationship offers hope - two peoples, two states, one shared
future. This paper illuminates potential openings. Our era demands reclaiming the boldest,
most thoughtful version of what peace could be. With collective bravery, a generation may write
the next chapter of Tagora history, their children inheriting fruits of difficult compromise but
finally living possibility’s promise. The ingredients exist, waiting for current leaders’ wisdom and
will to seize this pregnant moment, daring greatly for highest stakes, bending arcs of history
towards redemption through relentlessly creative peacebuilding. The world is ready, if leaders
rise to this epochal challenge.