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Leap of Faith: Israel’s National Religious and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Crisis Group Middle East Report N°147, 21 November 2013 Page 45 VII. Conclusion Beyond the territorial and therefore theological consequences that the national religious fear, the peace process itself has been built upon their exclusion and marginalisation. The substance of an agreement, as well as the manner in which it is negotiated, ratified and implemented, will go a long way toward determining the degree of backing, opposition and confrontation from the national-religious community. Achieving national-religious support for a two-state solution will not be easy, nor – even with the best of efforts – can one expect such support to be either wholehearted or comprehensive. Too, any nod in the direction of the national religious likely will create tensions with other Israeli groups as well as with Palestinians, including those who are citizens of Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s insistence on Palestinian recognition of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people is one illustration: important for securing greater national-religious support, the demand has become a lightning rod for Palestinians who fear it will erode the rights of refugees and Palestinians citizens of Israel while undermining their historical narrative. There are other possible examples. Holding a national referendum and requiring on a Jewish majority would provide any putative deal with additional legitimacy among the national religious, but at the cost of placing the agreement at the mercy of a single, well-timed terrorist attack and demeaning the standing of Israel’s Palestinian citizens. Insisting on worship rights for Jews on the Holy Esplanade likewise might increase national-religious support, but could be a red line for Palestinians and a recipe for future strife. The same goes for allowing some settlements to remain under Palestinian sovereignty. These are difficult trade-offs to be sure. Still, more can and should be tried to seek to address some of the national-religious concerns and, at a minimum, demonstrate awareness of them. As Crisis Group has long argued, the peace process traditionally has done the least to attract those who – whether Israeli or Palestinian – have the most energy and the greatest incentive to undermine it. 255 That is hardly the way to secure a viable, lasting and solid agreement. Jerusalem/Brussels, 21 November 2013 255 See Crisis Group Middle East Report N°122, The Emperor Has No Clothes: Palestinians and the End of the Peace Process, 7 May 2012.
Leap of Faith: Israel’s National Religious and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Crisis Group Middle East Report N°147, 21 November 2013 Page 46 Appendix A: Map of Israel
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