A new report claims that Special Envoy George Mitchell delivered to the Palestinian Authority the U.S. peace plan, which includes a deal that would swap Israeli land for the large Jewish settlement blocs in the West Bank. The plan resembles policy advocated by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who urges the annexation of Arab land in northern Israel to a Palestinian state. The plan would ease concerns of some politicians that view changing demographics as the biggest threat to Israel, and not Iran or terrorism. Because Arabs generally have higher birth rates than most Israelis (with the exception of religious Jews), Israel may cease to house a Jewish majority in merely a few decades. By ridding Israel of land populated by Arabs, the Israeli government could curb the shift in demographics.
The report states that the recent settlements dispute between Israel and the United States was exaggerated seeing that the U.S. plan permits Israel to maintain its foothold on some settlements. Moreover, the report asserts that the United States should not care about settlement growth because Israel would retain the settlements. However, neither side agreed to the plan and an increase in settlement activity merely aggravates the situation. Israel should freeze settlements until an agreement is reached, regardless of the final solution.
