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ISRAEL/PALESTINE

JERUSALEM

On Jerusalem, the most promising approach is to follow the general principle that what is Arab in the City should be Palestinian and what is Jewish should be Israeli.  This would apply to the Old City as well.  Regarding the Haram/Temple Mount issue, there are two approaches that could formalize Palestinian de facto control over the Haram while respecting the convictions of the Jewish people.  Under each, there could be an international monitoring system to provide mutual confidence: (1) Mutual agreement could provide for Palestinian sovereignty over the Haram, and for Israeli sovereignty over either “the Western Wall and the space sacred to Judaism of which it is a part” or “the Western Wall and the holy of holies of which it is part.”  There would be a firm commitment by both not to excavate beneath the Haram or behind the Western Wall.  (2) Alternatively, the agreement could provide for Palestinian sovereignty over the Haram and Israeli sovereignty over the Western Wall and for “shared functional sovereignty over the issue of excavation under the Haram or behind the Western Wall.”  That way, mutual consent would be required before any excavation takes place in these areas.   

Source: Dennis Ross.  "The Missing  Peace:  The Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace."  New York:  Farrar, Straus and Giroux.  2004

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