It has been nearly 70 years since Israel first asked the U.S. to sign a bilateral defense treaty. Ever since then, the idea of a formal security agreement, which requires congressional approval, has resurfaced from time to time, usually around major political or diplomatic events. It has been struck down repeatedly by one side or the other (and, at times, by both), due to an understanding that it does not serve their actual needs.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently floating the idea once again, this time in the context of a possible Israeli-American-Saudi mega-deal to normalize relations between the two Middle Eastern states, and as a response to a similar Saudi demand from the U.S.
But the U.S. can make use of Netanyahu's interest in a security upgrade to revive a different idea instead: the decade-old security plan for the two-state solution, known as the Allen Plan, introduced during the Obama administration. The plan, developed by retired U.S. Gen. John Allen as part of Secretary of State John Kerry's peace initiative, was based on security talks with both Israelis and Palestinians. It introduced a series of practical measures aimed at ensuring that a two-state reality would enhance Israeli and Palestinian security, rather than jeopardize it. The plan, which was never made public, was flatly rejected by Israel's right-wing coalition at the time, but has not lost relevance for those seeking Israeli-Palestinian peace who are concerned about the security consequences of an Israeli territorial withdrawal.
The Biden administration should leverage Israel-Saudi normalization efforts to advance Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking. Last year, on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, Saudi Arabia indicated an interest in relaunching the Arab Peace Initiative (API). The EU supports that and has expressed a willingness to revamp its own peace incentive — the 2013 offer to Israel and the Palestinians for a Special Privileged Partnership — and to link it to the API. With another peace process-related meeting being planned on the sidelines of this year's U.N. General Assembly in September, the timing is right for a parallel move by the U.S.
By reintroducing and updating the Allen Plan in light of current realities, the U.S. can add a security component to a possible international package of incentives for peace that may be in the making. This will not only help make international peacemaking efforts more effective, but will also deliver a decisive and important message to the Israeli leadership and public: Safeguarding democracy and advancing peace are the path for Israel to get additional security guarantees from the U.S., not overhauling the judiciary or attempting to avoid the Palestinian quest for statehood by pursuing normalization with the Saudis.
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