Linking the Gaza Strip with the West Bank: - Jerusalem Center For ...

page 44IV. Viability of aPalestinian StateA. “Viable Statehood” in ContextWhen referring to the future State of Palestine, manypoliticians and international organizations demandthat the state be ‘viable.’ For example, President Bushcalled for “[a] viable Palestinian State” in a speech hedelivered in February 2005. 248 Similarly, CondoleezzaRice asserted that, “Israel must also take no actions thatprejudice a final settlement and must help ensure that anew Palestinian State is truly viable.” 249These official Americansentiments were echoedat the UN, with Kofi Annancalling for “internationalsupport for an independent,democratic, viable andcontiguous PalestinianState.” 250 Similarly, theQuartet agreed on “theneed to ensure that a newPalestinian State is trulyviable.” 251These calls for a viable Palestinian State are often linkedto the assumption that it must be contiguous to betruly viable. The premise here is that a non-contiguousstate cannot be viable because to be viable one mustnecessarily have movement of people and goods betweenparts of the state’s territory. The basis of this argumentis questionable. First, there have been goods’ convoystransporting goods from Gaza to the West Bank. 252 This,interestingly, functions in the absence of safe passage.Second, a Palestinian State could be viable without safepassage if the Palestinian people exercise their right tofree transit. This right is accorded to the Palestiniansby virtue of their being a member of the Arab League ofStates, and a signatory of the Arab Transit Agreementof 1977. In terms of this agreement, ‘Palestine’ has theright of free transit over the territories of other Arabsignatory states. The exercise of this right could have anenormous impact on the future Palestinian State and itseconomy. Both Egypt and Jordan are signatories. Thus,they are obliged to exempt Palestinian goods in transitfrom custom duties, taxes and other such charges. 253This, again, in the absence and without the necessity ofthe safe passage.Despite these facts, calls still abound for safepassage, which consider safe passage essential fora viable Palestinian State. To ascertain whether thisunderstanding of viability is correct, one must considerthe meaning of viability.B. Terms Defined: ‘Viability’ and ‘Viable’As defined in The Oxford English Dictionary viability hastwo meanings. Depending on which meaning is adopted,the meaning of viability in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the demands for the creationof a Palestinian State will differ. The word viable alsohas two meanings that correspond to the two distinctmeanings of viability.The first possible meaning of viability is the “quality orstate of being viable, capacity for living, the ability to liveunder certain conditions. Also… now esp. feasibility, andthe ability to continue or be continued.” 254 According toThe Oxford English Dictionary viable can mean “capable ofliving, able to maintain a separate existence.” 255 If this iswhat is meant by the term viable, then it would seem thatthe Palestinian State could indeed be non-contiguousand yet remain a viable state. The fact that the state isnon-contiguous does not render it unfeasible.However, the words viability and viable can carrydifferent meanings. According to The Oxford EnglishDictionary, viability can also mean “the condition of beingtraversable.” 256 Viable too can mean “traversable.” 257Whether traversable means legally or physically