Interim Agreement on Joint Security and Humanitarian Procedures
The State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the representative of the Palestinian people, (hereinafter the “Parties”),
R e c o g n i z i n g both parties' desire for a secure, prosperous West Bank and State of Israel,
A f f i r m i n g the mutual security interests of the parties involved,
E x p r e s s i n g the hope for sustainable future negotiations,
R e a l i z i n g the earnest desires of the United States and international community,
E m p h a s i z i n g the goals and principles outlined in United Nations Resolutions 194, 242, and 338,
V i e w i n g w i t h h o p e the potential for an agreement to kick-start the broader peace process,
1. Article 1: Security Protocols
a. Establishes a Joint Task Force (hereinafter “the JTF”) for conducting joint security patrols—with the advice and support of the United States—between Israeli and the Palestinian Authority personnel within the West Bank;
i. Mandates that the task force exclusively undertake counter-terrorism and security operations;
1. Affirms that counter-terror operations be directed toward containing Iranian and foreign threats to the State of Israel, the United States, and the Palestinian Authority's regional partners;
ii. Integrates Israel Defense Forces counter-terrorism operations within the West Bank under the JTF command structure;
iii. Designates the United States as coordinator and guarantor of joint security patrols, facilitating training, equipment, and military-military communication between IDF, PA, and international chains of command;
1. Enables U.S. non-combat advisors to be embedded with JTF command, with special oversight for a jointly-developed Rules of Engagement;
2. Directs the United States to initiate a training period for units under JTF command for eighteen months;
3. Outlines a ten-year period wherein the JTF may undertake joint patrols through Area A, Area B, and Area C, in addition to PA-operated patrols in Areas A, B, and C;
4. Establishes, parallel with the ten-year patrol period, a phased programme for the provision of military aid to Palestinian elements in the JTF, beginning with small arms and infantry equipment, and progressing to up-armored vehicles and indirect fire gun systems;
5. Specifies that the United States Government, Israeli Government, and Palestinian Authority fund the organization with the respective states’ fiscal obligations subject to review after meaningful increases in PA tax collection;
b. Designates a one-year timeline for interim measures to streamline checkpoint procedures within the West Bank;
i. Retains thirty-five permanently-staffed checkpoints attached to the Israeli barrier wall;
ii. Eliminates twenty-six permanently-staffed checkpoints located along transit lines within Area C;
iii. Mandates the phased retirement of partially-staffed checkpoints within the West Bank;
iv. Designates a Joint Ombudsperson for Checkpoint Procedures (hereinafter the “Joint Office”), with the aim of monitoring and reviewing concerns relating to checkpoints in and bordering on the West Bank;
1. Tasks the Joint Office with collecting complaints, coordinating the placement of observers at staffed checkpoints, and reviewing the efficiency and equity of checkpoint procedures;
2. Mandates that the Joint Office develop yearly reports reviewing the progress of checkpoint reforms and ongoing challenges regarding checkpoint procedures;
3. Specifies that the Joint Ombudsperson be appointed with the assent of the Government of Israel and Palestinian Authority, where all UN member states are vested with nominating powers to the position;
4. Demands a three-year term of service for the Joint Ombudsperson and their deputy;
v. Directs a reduction in frequency of randomized search procedures at checkpoints; vi. Increases checkpoint throughput at border regions, with investments from the United States to speed checkpoint proceedings;
1. Encourages throughput improvements on checkpoints to be focused on areas bordering East Jerusalem and Bethlehem;
c. At the advice and consent of the United Nations General Assembly, establishes Area B contiguity along roadways in the West Bank;
i. Maintains Israeli Area B prerogatives on roadway security;
d. Streamlines visa processes, with the aim of reducing processing delays, for protected categories of West Bank and East Jerusalem residents, including:
i. West Bank and East Jerusalem residents seeking visas to pursue extended study in the State of Israel;
ii. West Bank and East Jerusalem residents seeking visas for medical procedures and visitation in the State of Israel;
e. Begins the funding of the SPEDP development package that shall replace UNRWA and resumes U.S. humanitarian and security aid, as articulated in Annex B;
2. Article 2: Territorial Stabilization
a. Resolves to undertake procedures clarifying the territorial sovereignty of the Government of Israel and Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, based on the general principles outlined in UNSC Resolution 242 and 338, with reciprocal modifications on a 1:1 basis (hereinafter “The Reciprocal Agreement”) encompassing 4.31 percent of Palestinian territory;
i. Establishes a Joint Technical Border Commission (hereinafter the “JTBC”) composed of both Parties to conduct a technical demarcation of the border no later than nine months from the date of the entry into force of the Reciprocal Agreement, based on the Agreement’s general principles;
ii. Directs, as original intent and principle of the Reciprocal Agreement, that the JTBC encompass the settlements of Ma'ale Adumim, Modiin Illit, Ariel, North Ariel, Beitar Ilit, Southern East Bloc, Southern West Bloc, Kfar Adumim, Gush Etzion, Kedumim, and Givat Ze'ev for incorporation into the State of Israel, in exchange for the inclusion of territory comprising of and adjacent to the Northern and Southern Triangle Communities, including Umm-Al Fahm, Tayibe, Jatt and Baqa Al-Gharbiyye and others so as to maintain equality in territorial transfer;
iii. Shifts the planned Israeli barrier wall between the Northern Ariel settlement bloc and Ariel settlement bloc westward, so as to maintain Palestinian territorial contiguity without internal barriers to trade and investment;
iv. Directs the evacuation and dismantlement of Israeli settlements not adjacent to the Green Line nor encompassed in the Reciprocal Arrangement, (Masua, Yafit, Petzael, Argaman, Tomer, Gilgal, Netiv Ha’Gedud, Niran, Yitav, Naama, Beita Haarva, Beit Cholga, Almong, Kalia, Mitzpe Shalem, Ovnat, Vered Yericho, Hamra, Bekaot);
v. Designates the JTF as the responsible party for border procedures at the Allenby/King Hussein Bridge Border Crossing, with provision for the phased translation of roles to the relevant sovereign parties;
b. Implements a one-year freeze on Israeli settlement construction or enlargement within the West Bank, subject to yearly renewal pending the implementation of the Reciprocal Agreement;
i. Affirms the reversal of barrier wall construction within East Jerusalem;
c. Suggests that housing incentives be furnished for Israeli citizens permanently relocating from West Bank settlements to the State of Israel;
i. Outlines a joint evacuation procedure for former Israeli settlers, with options to return to the State of Israel or remain as Israeli citizens who are permanent residents of Palestine;
ii. Specifies the legal and fiscal obligations of former settlers selected for integration into Palestine, such that they are entitled to basic political representation in municipal affairs commensurate with their fiscal contributions;
d. Guarantees, pursuant to the obligations implied in any territorial swap procedure, that Arab Israeli citizens located in the territories transferred to Palestine may choose to retain their citizenship status, especially with respect to the transit and political rights this status entails;
i. Mandates legal limitations to municipal admissions committee policies and housing regulations directed at Palestinian citizens of the State of Israel;
e. Designates the United States and, pending their invitation, the Arab League and European Union as guarantors of the Reciprocal Agreement’s entry into force and subsequent implementation;
f. Clarifies the need for continued negotiation over the final status of Palestinian territory in Gaza and both states’ respective obligations on the matter;
3. Article 3: Humanitarian Protocols
a. Directs talks within five years to discuss the reduction of tariffs, quotas, and other barriers to trade, labor, and capital flows;
b. Mandates a five-year transition of tax collection duties within the West Bank from the Israeli Ministry of Finance to the PA Treasury Department, with the oversight and support of the United States;
c. Guarantees the extension of legal due process to the Parties’ citizens in their respective custodies;
i. Resolves that the respective Ministries of Justice shall formally notify their counterparts within twelve hours of arrest;
ii. Prohibits the arrest of citizens by both Parties without formal charges filed within twenty-four hours of arrest;
d. Suspends the Joint Water Committee approvals process for UN-approved water projects within the West Bank within three years;
i. Demands increased meeting frequency of the Joint Water Committee, with bimonthly meetings necessary so long as backlogs of one hundred or greater projects remain;
ii. Mandates a five-year timeframe for improving water infrastructure, with special emphasis placed on replacing inefficient and leaky water systems, transferring water development prerogatives within the West Bank to the Palestinian Authority, and guaranteeing continued water supplies for former settlers with Palestinian resident status;
e. Streamlines the work permit awards process for skilled and unskilled Palestinian laborers commuting to Israel;
i. Calls for Israel to increase the number of work permits extended to Palestinian workers;
ii. Proposes established cooperation between the PA and Israel to oversee the permit extension process and to cooperate on security checks on permit applicants.
4. Article 4: Interim Agreement on Jerusalem and Holy Sites
a. Recognizes the City of Jerusalem as centrally important to Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths, and commits to preserving its fundamental character and religious significance;
i. Declares that the Jewish and Armenian quarters of the Old City be maintained under Israeli sovereign authority, while the Muslim and Christian quarters remain under Palestinian sovereignty;
ii. Ensures free movement of peoples within the Old City, subject to regulations ensuring hygiene and decorum at religious sites;
1. Specifies that entry and exit points of the Old City be secured by the Parties whose borders abut their location;
b. Establishes, in recognition of its historical and religious significance to all faiths, a secure transitional agreement for security over the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount complex (hereinafter “the Complex”) to preserve its sanctity for the international community;
i. Reaffirms present Hashemite custodianship over the Muslim and Christian Holy Sites in East Jerusalem pursuant to Article 9 of the 1994 Treaty of Peace Between the State of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the March 2013 Agreement between Jordan and the Palestinian Authority;
ii. Empowers a Custodianship Council comprised of Palestine, Israel, the United States, and, with successful invitation, Jordan;
1. Affirms the Council’s role as a steering committee for disputes concerning the Complex, and to perform security and conservation duties in the interim period;
2. Declares the Council’s mandate to employ JTF elements for maintaining day-to-day security over the Complex in the interim period;
3. Emphasizes, consistent with past practice and in light of the security considerations and religious decorum determined by the Waqf, that visitors be permitted to access the site without discrimination, including but not limited to race, religion, sex, gender/gender expression, sexual orientation, physical ability, place of origin, age, and nationality;
4. Declares that the United States and Jordan’s involvement will be phased out pursuant to the timeline of the greater JTF mandate;
iii. Directs, in view of its spiritual significance, that no digging or excavation be undertaken beneath the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount compound unilaterally or without express permission from both parties;
c. Specifies that the political sovereignty of Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount shall be revisited in subsequent negotiations in five years;
d. Pursuant to the the general principles outlined in UNSC Resolution 242 and 338, demarcates the respective states’ sovereign borders in Jerusalem along the lines attached in Annex A;
e. Notes that Palestinian Jerusalemites with permanent residence status in Israel shall lose this status if they reside in areas transferred to Palestinian sovereignty pursuant to the interim agreement;
f. Calls for an extension in zoning and planning areas designated for Palestinian residential neighborhoods so as to encompass existing Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem;
i. Guarantees reforms to Jerusalem’s residential construction permit application process to ensure equal access for Palestinian residents of Jerusalem;
ii. Allocates a greater proportion of humanitarian aid from Israel and the United States to ensure that Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem attain equal municipal standards for water quality, fire safety, and infrastructural quality;
g. Directs that the contents of an interim agreement be made available for public viewing within six months of its signature, and, barring exceptions described in the interim agreement, enter into force no later than three years after its first public viewing;
5. Article 5: Refugee Protocols
a. Recognizes the hardship and displacement imposed on Arab civilians due to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War;
b. Affirms, consistent with the positions articulated in the Clinton Parameters, that displaced Palestinians shall be permitted to return to the State of Palestine with ease,
i. Emphasizes that an amount of 30,000-40,000 displaced Palestinians may return to the State of Israel over a 10 year period;
1. Notes that displaced Palestinians are specifically stateless (such as those residing in Lebanon and Syria) and not those with citizenship status in Jordan;
ii. Directs that displaced Palestinians who wish to resettle in another country shall be compensated;
1. Establishes an International Commission with delegations from both parties, the United States, and other parties invited to provide oversight of resettlement, compensation, and integration of returning refugees;
iii. Notes that in the next round of negotiations that will occur in five years, both parties will review their past operations for refugee resettlement in order to see if UNGA Resolution 194 can be declared as completed;
6. Hebron and the Mount of Olives
a. Guarantees that peoples may exercise their right to access the religious sites in Hebron and the Mount of Olives freely and without discrimination including but not limited to race, religion, sex, gender/gender expression, sexual orientation, physical ability, place of origin, age, and nationality;
b. Notes that the JTF shall coordinate security at the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Mount of Olives religious sites;
c. Declares that said holy sites be maintained under Palestinian political sovereignty, with joint religious custodianship over their access, maintenance, and religious procedures;
i. Establishes a Joint Custodianship Council (hereinafter the “Council”), with religious representatives from the Parties, the United States, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, to oversee religious decorum over the sites;
ii. Affirms the Council’s role as a steering body for the maintenance of free access and security for the religious sites;
7. Miscellaneous
a. Reaffirms that the Parties are empowered to undertake further joint proceedings to articulate the methods and modalities for cooperation;
b. Establishes a follow-up negotiation that shall take place five years following the passage of this Interim Agreement to do the following:
i. Determine if UNGA Resolution 194 has been successfully implemented in a manner satisfactory to both parties as per the terms of this agreement;
ii. Review each parties’ compliance to this Interim Agreement in regards to the status of Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount in accordance to Article 4;
iii. Review funding for programs established in this Interim Agreement; and iv. Review the performance of the Joint Task Force in its structure and purpose set forth in Article 1 and possibly make revisions which are deemed necessary by all parties.