There are two main elements of the plan: 1) physical separation, and 2) radical deterrence through the land-loss-for-violence mechanism.
Part 1: Physical Separation
- To create a durable resolution to the conflict, Israel will need to redraw and then permanently fix its borders, and then declare the establishment of a Palestinian State in the West Bank and Gaza.
- To do this, it will first annex large settlement blocs in the West Bank, almost all of which are very close to the green line. This land and these citizens will become part of Israel proper—there will no longer be a designation of “settler”, there will just be Israelis. Notably, this would include the large Ariel settlement and some of its satellite settlements. These annexed former settlements would receive an influx of government investment, making them among the most desirable places to live in Israel (think: a world-class amusement park in Kfar Etzion, etc.).
- Israel will also forcibly remove 25,000-40,000 “deep” Israeli settlers, most of whom would likely choose to relocate to the closest newly-annexed settlement (e.g. in many cases just a few miles down the road). Those “deep” settlers will receive a generous compensation package to re-establish their lives.
- This is a very different model to the removal of settlements from Gaza in 2005, which was a traumatic experience for the Israeli Right. In that circumstance, all 21 settlements were removed; none remained. The Tzabar Plan is more analogous to a hypothetical situation whereby Israel instead removed just 3 or 4 small settlements from Gaza in 2005 and annexed the rest.
- Two large tracts of mostly-empty Israeli land would be given to the new Palestinian State (West Bank and Gaza) as follows:
- Gaza would be given a large area along the Egyptian border in the Negev, (“New Gaza”), which would be appended to it, tripling Gaza in size (similar to what is envisioned in the 2020 Trump Peace Plan).
- The West Bank would be extended by appending to it an area to the south (also similar to the 2020 Trump Peace Plan).
- The new land masses of the West Bank and Gaza would be approximately as follows:
|
Current area (km2) |
New area (km2) |
Change in size (%) |
| West Bank |
5,655 |
5,490 |
97% of previous |
| Gaza |
365 |
1,095 |
300% of previous |
| Total |
6,020 |
6,585 |
110% of previous |
- Crucially, the new Palestinian State would account for ~40% of the total land between the river and the sea that is considered non-desert, while having around 45% of the population.
- As part of the process of drawing and fixing new borders, a buffer zone between the two states would be created that would be patrolled, monitored, and permanently uninhabited, with imposing high-tech barriers on either side*.* It would be around 500m-1km wide, but slightly narrower in some key areas, such as around Qalqilya / Kfar Saba. This would create physical separation between the two states.
- Jerusalem would be divided into an Israeli zone, a Palestinian zone, and a shared international zone in between.
- For connectivity of goods and people between the West Bank and Gaza, two tunnels are built—one connecting the South West tip of the West Bank to Gaza, and another connecting a different part of the South West tip of the West Bank to “New Gaza”. To reduce the cost and engineering difficulties, the tunnels need not be underground for their entire length. Rather, both connectors can be an “above ground tunnel”—think of a highway covered by a concrete dome, with grass on top of the dome—for most of their length, while going underground when crossing Israeli communities and infrastructure.
- In addition, a modern, high-speed rail line is built to connect Jenin in the North tip of the West Bank all the way to Rafah at the South end of Gaza. This rail line would have stops in all major population centers—Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, East Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron, Gaza City, Khan Younis, and Rafah—and could be traversed in ~3-hours. A resident of Ramallah could take their family to the beach for the day, something that is currently unimaginable for Palestinians in the West Bank.
- To increase trade and tourism links, a modern seaport is built in Gaza, as well as an airport in the West Bank.
- The end result would be two states—Israel alongside a viable Palestine—physically separated by two barriers and a buffer zone, whereby the populations would have no physical access to one another, with the exception of the international zone in Jerusalem.
Approximate Map:
- A live version of this map can be found here: Tzabar Plan Map
- See Appendix 6 for additional maps.