Navigate Website  
Download PDF
Navigate Website  
Download PDF
Navigate Website  
Download PDF

Summary

Preamble

The preamble contains introductory clauses expressing the intentions of the signatories. read

Principles

1. Finality.  The agreement fulfils all previous initiatives, resolutions and peace processes.  It is a final settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. read

2. Non-violence.  The agreement commits the signatories to pursue their aims only through non-violence and democracy.  They both renounce the use of force as a means of settling disputes between them. They will do all in their power to create, support and sustain harmony, understanding and mutual respect between them.  "In the future we shall act positively and together for the common good." read

3. Democracy.  Both states are democracies, which protect freedom of speech, faith, worship, assembly, peaceful protest, democratic rights and the rule of law.  "We and our descendants shall forever be equal in rights and liberty…" read

4. Parity, which is equality between and comparability of the two states.  The agreement asserts the principle of parity of rights, power, treatment and attainment between the State of Palestine and the State of Israel, and the peoples. read


Articles

1. Sovereignty
The agreement establishes the State of Palestine and affirms the State of Israel.  Israel will withdraw its military forces from the territory of the State of Palestine to the pre-1967 borders (the Green Line). Israeli civilian occupiers will be withdrawn from Palestine. read

2. Territory
The border between the states will be the Green Line, followed by a one-to-one land-swap. Which land is to be swapped is specified in the agreement, based on the wishes of the people living in the areas concerned.  In addition, the territory of Palestine will be increased by gifts from neighboring states so that the territories of Palestine and Israel shall end up equal. There will be a corridor linking the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which will be permanently open. Sites of religious significance will be respected in both states, with facilities provided for transport to and from the sites, and their maintenance. read

3. Jerusalem / El Quds
The agreement recognizes the special significance of Jerusalem.  The single, undivided city will be the capital of both states. Although the international border between the states will run through the center of the city, the border will be open, without barriers or checkpoints for people or vehicles. The city will be bigger than at present, extending further east and south, so that the Palestinian and Israeli areas are equal. read

Everyone living in the city will have the status of Permanent Resident of the City of Jerusalem. The Jerusalem City Council will be elected by the city residents, with equal numbers of Israeli and Palestinian members, and they have to administer the city in accordance with the principle of Parity. There are special arrangements in the agreement for safeguarding the Old City. read

4. Citizenship
Adult citizens of either state can choose to change their citizenship.  People from one of the states who live in the other one can be granted the status of Temporary Resident or Permanent Resident, and have their rights guaranteed in the agreement.  The agreement goes into detail about the withdrawal of Israeli settlers in the West bank, how legal disputes over land and property are to be dealt with, and when people should be granted residence status. read

The Right of Return is included, as follows: Palestinians who live anywhere in the world have the right to return to Palestine and become Palestinian citizens immediately.  Jews who live anywhere in the world have the right to return to Israel and become Israeli citizens immediately. read

5. Refugees
A UN Commission will be set up to resettle Palestinian refugees.  Whether they are living inside or outside Palestine, refugees will have the option of becoming Palestinian citizens or not.  They will also have the options of returning to Palestine, staying where they are, or going to live in third countries that agree to resettle them. read

The UN Commission will gather and use money from the international community to ensure that all refugees are resettled properly.  That means they have a house to live in, jobs, and all the rights and services they would have had if they had never been made refugees.  The standards are the same, whether the refugees return to Palestine, stay where they are, or go to a third country. read

6. Government and International Relations
Both Israel and Palestine will continue to be democracies.  Both states will recognize each other, will be recognized in parallel by other countries of the world, and will be members of the UN. read

7. Security, Demilitarization and Defense
Israeli military occupation forces will be withdrawn from Palestine under an agreed timetable. A UN Multinational Security Force will help Palestine for five years.  Palestinian resistance groups will "demilitarize", which means getting rid of all their heavy weapons and transferring their light weapons to the police or military.  This process will be monitored carefully by an international group of generals who will report confidentially on progress. read

When the agreement is signed, the military forces of both states are renamed the "Defense of the Land".  Over the next fifteen years, the Defense of the Land must be integrated (in line with the principle of Parity) to attain equality between Israeli and Palestinian personnel.  Special arrangements for deployment and control of the Defense of the Land are imposed by the agreement, to ensure that the military force cannot be used by the states to attack each other or oppress either civilian population.  Arrangements are also put in place for security and border control. read

8. Amnesty and Prisoners
An indefinite truce will be declared by all parties who adopt the agreement, at the beginning of the process of implementation.  Immediately after this, there will be an amnesty declared simultaneously by all parties who adopt the agreement.  The amnesty will cover everyone, whatever they have done in the course of the conflict, and every action before the amnesty is announced.  (The amnesty will not cover crimes that have nothing to do with the conflict.) Prisoners of the conflict who have been detained before the amnesty is announced will be released into the care of a special UN Office set up for the purpose.  In a neighboring country, this UN Office will check that the prisoners accept the peace agreement and will abide by it, and will then return them home. read

9. Economic Development
As soon as the agreement is signed, a fifteen-year program of economic aid and development starts, aiming for parity between the states of Palestine and Israel within fifteen years.  It is estimated that this will cost $18 billion a year over and above existing levels of private investment and aid.  The process has to be under the control of local people (Palestinian or Israeli), enterprises must be majority-owned by them, and the financing must be subject to anti-corruption laws. read

The economic development program will first build the port at Gaza, open the corridor to the West Bank, and build airports, roads and railways.  A sustained effort in construction will then be required as it is expected that up to three million Palestinian refugees may return to Palestine over the following fifteen years.  Industry, services, agriculture, energy supply and water management will have to meet the target of parity for this expanding population.  All these activities must also protect the environment, suggesting that alternative energy sources like solar and wind power and projects like electric vehicles will be important components of the economic development program. read

10. Services
In parallel with the economic development program of article 9, education, research, health-care, social welfare, sport and culture must be supported and expanded to keep pace.  An important principle is established here: that assistance from outside must always train local people to take over the development activities within two years, through "on-the-job" training. read

11. Implementation
The Just Peace Agreement is implemented in a different way from any other treaty.  Instead of a never-ending process of negotiation, chasing an elusive compromise that never gets implemented at all, the JPA is a package deal.  Any party who likes the overall package can "adopt" the agreement and start to implement their responsibilities under the agreement right away.  This builds up confidence that they really mean what they say, and other parties join in adopting the agreement. After a month or two, everyone is confident that everyone else really wants to implement the JPA, and we all get together and sign it.  Implementation carries on as a rolling program for the next fifteen years, and indefinitely thereafter. read

12. Accession
The main people who will sign the agreement are representatives of Israel and Palestine; they may include representatives of various groups who have adopted the agreement, not just members of the two governments.  In addition, representatives of many nations and international groups will be co-signatories, showing their support for the agreement and their intention to contribute to its implementation, which includes substantial financial support and resources over fifteen years. read


Annexes

1. Territorial Exchange
This annex contains detailed rules about how the one-to-one land-swap has to be carried out, when people vote for which country they want their home to be in.  The "contiguity" rules ensure that the countries are not split up into a lot of little bits; Israel is one big bit, and Palestine is two big bits connected by one corridor.  The rules allow all townships right next to the border to exchange, and most townships that are within five km of the border. read map

2. Territorial Donation
This annex contains suggestions of donations of territory to Palestine by various states, to make its overall size the same as Israel's (20000 square km).  It is up to the states concerned what they give and how they give it, but it certainly involves about a fifth of the Sinai being given to Palestine. read map

3. Boundaries of Jerusalem
This annex is a map of the new boundaries of the city and a description of where the boundary goes and what neighbourhoods are included. read

4. Principles Governing Implementation
This annex lists some of the principles behind the idea of rolling implementation of the agreement. read

5. Inter-Governmental and Trans-National Institutions
This annex defines the names, functions and constitutions of various organizations that are needed to implement the agreement.  It includes co-operative bodies set up between the two states, Israel and Palestine, as well as international bodies set up under the UN, and special monitoring teams. Very important bodies are described here, like the High Court of the Just Peace, which will have supreme judicial authority in interpreting the Just Peace Agreement and deciding legal cases arising between the states or their citizens. read

6. Sequence and Specifications of Demilitarization
This annex outlines a possible order for the early part of implementation of the agreement, from the time the principal parties adopt it up to the date of signing and for six months after. It also details the types of weapons involved in the demilitarization process and what must be done with them. read

7. Refugees Rights and Facilities
This annex lists the rights to be granted to refugees when they are resettled under the agreement. read

8. Parity Zones
This annex gives many examples of parity zones - regions, villages, towns, or parks - that can implement the principle of parity in concrete forms.  Parity zones involving the two states equally, like Jerusalem, are described, along with national parity zones that exist within one of the two states. read

9. Parity Organizations
This annex extends the principle of parity to two kinds of organization that do not have particular geographical boundaries: bi-national parity organizations and voluntary parity organizations. read

10. Criteria for Residence
This annex lists the criteria that applicants from one state have to satisfy to qualify for temporary or permanent residence status in the other state. read

11. Offences Against the Peace
This annex defines Offences Against the Peace: criminal offences (committed after the amnesty) that offend the spirit or letter of the Just Peace Agreement.  It also defines a Violation of the Peace: a high-level political decision or action taken that is against the principles or articles of the agreement. read

12. Contributions of Support by Regions
This annex lists the relative proportions of contributions ($ as funds and/or resources) that should come from different regions of the world to support the implementation of the Just Peace Agreement: a third each from North America, Europe, and the rest of the world. read

13. Defense of the Land Symbol
This annex suggests a nationally and ethnically neutral symbol for the DL. read

14. Economic Development Projects
This annex contains background about innovative economic development projects.  The first two involve building canals from the Mediterranean or Red Sea to the Dead Sea, to generate power for electricity or desalination and to restore the Dead Sea.  The third is a project to bring large volumes of fresh water from the River Danube via pipeline, or using desalination plants as an alternative method of getting the fresh water.  The fourth section lays down some principles and advice on how development and resettlement in the desert regions of the Negev and Sinai should be done in such a way as to protect the environment and the Bedouin inhabitants.  The final section discusses possible alternative energy sources, particularly solar power, and how they might be developed. read

15. Land-Swap Case Studies
This large annex contains examples of land-swap problems with illustrations of what disputes might arise and what legal rulings might be made to resolve them.  These examples help to clarify what the land-swap rules of annex 1 mean in practice, as well as showing how the rules may be applied to implement the land-swap. read