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Dual Capital Strategy

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This week marks the first time that Jordan's King Abdullah has visited Israel since he became king some 14 months ago. His visit was remarkable not necessarily because he was an Arab leader coming to Israel (that has happened numerous times already), but because of the statements made about the status of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is the lynchpin for the peace process between the Israelis and Palestinians. Solving that issue could allow the rest of the issues to fall into place. The city is sacred to Jews, Christians and Moslems and a political solution that could satisfy the Israelis and Palestinians over the political status of the city is going to shape the region for years to come. To that end, the King suggested a dual capital for Israelis and Palestinians with both sections of the city open to religious tolerance.

Those statements are not too difficult to understand because the King has a population of 1.2 million Palestinian refugees who were displaced through the many wars between the Israelis and her Arab neighbors. A resolution to the status of Jerusalem could open the way to repatriation of the refugees and solve some of Jordan's problems. Jordan is a very poor country and the refugee situation has been a constant drag on the economy for nearly 50 years. The refugees have also been a source of discontent among the population and has been a source of instability that has erupted into violence in the past.

A dual status of Jerusalem has been mentioned in the past by diplomats all the way back into the 1940s. The dual status strategy would likely rub the Israelis the wrong way because it would go against the "united and eternal capital" strategy they have maintained since 1967. Israel would not willingly allow the city to be divided once again. However, there is a possibility that the Israelis would be amenable to a creation of a "second" Jerusalem on top of the existing city. It would allow the Palestinians to claim the city as their own, while giving the Israelis the united city they want.

Are there other possibilities? Yes. If you have other ideas or suggestions on how to bridge the gap between the Israelis and Palestinians, post them here.

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