Deadlocks · defusion
Reform the political system
Fix the systems that keep leaders from delivering: in Israel, the coalition rules that give small parties a veto; for Palestinians, the absence of elections and a divided leadership.
In Israel: changes to the electoral threshold and coalition rules, a written constitution settling the courts' role, and personal law separated from religious courts. For Palestinians: national elections (none since 2006), an agreed succession, and ending the split between Hamas and Fatah. The loop to break: reform keeps being postponed because the state is under constant challenge, and the unreformed system in turn blocks the solutions that would reduce the challenge.
The deadlocks it addresses
Where it has been tried
- Israel ends its military administration over Arab citizens (1966) — worked. A system inherited from British emergency law was dismantled on Israel's own initiative after internal debate (see 'What the Ottomans and the British left behind').
- Israel's direct election of the prime minister (1996–2001) — failed. Meant to reduce small parties' leverage, it fragmented the Knesset further and was repealed.
- The cancelled Palestinian elections of 2021 — failed. Called off weeks before the vote; there has been no national election since 2006.
What you have to believe for it to work
- Reform can happen during a conflict, not only after it
- Palestinian elections would produce a leadership able to negotiate
These are the assumptions the future solution builder will let you set yourself.
What has to happen first
- A governing coalition not dependent on the parties that benefit from the current rules
- For Palestinians, an election both factions would accept the result of
How it can fail
- Reform is captured by one camp, as the 2023 judicial overhaul fight showed
- Elections could empower the movements that reject any deal