M I D D L E E A S T

The designations employed and the presentation of the material on the maps in this report do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. [...] As a partial, interim substitute for the necessary but currently absent Israeli and Palestinian leadership, the US and key regional players— especially Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia—should quietly align on the concept of the AIPPI and begin to sell it through coordinated diplomatic initiatives in the region, to Israel, and to Palestinians. [...] This would enable the PA, over time, to play important roles in the eventual integration of Gaza and the West Bank, in major developmental investment in the West Bank and Gaza, in the acceleration of the US efforts to develop PA security forces, and effectively engaging with Israelis and regional parties in negotiating longer term arrangements that are at the heart of the AIPPI. [...] The earlier the announcement and the greater the support of the longer-term positive vision represented by the AIPPI, the more likely these diplomatic initiatives will succeed. [...] As observed at the outset of this paper, the AIPPI can only work if it is implemented in phases, or in stages, over time: as Israelis, working with the United States and the Palestinians, become more confident that their security concerns on the West Bank can be met and that regional normalization is the credible “reward” for embrace of the AIPPI, as the Palestinians come to believe in a genuine I.