
Frequently Asked Questions
1)Q. Can I get a nutshell explanation of what is the Israeli Palestinian
confederation?
In essence, the Israeli Palestinian Confederation is a third government for both
the Israeli and the Palestinian peoples together. A Confederation does not
dissolve the Israeli or Palestinian governments. The Israeli and Palestinian
governments will remain the governments of the Israeli and the Palestinian
peoples. The Israeli and Palestinian peoples and institutions will remain
subject to the jurisdictions and laws of their respective governments. However,
the Confederation is an independent third government representing both the
peoples of Israel and Palestine together.
Under the Israeli Palestinian Confederation Constitution, there will be 300
Parliament members representing 300 districts of the entire area of Israel, the
West Bank, and Gaza.
In order for the 300 representative to pass legislation, they will require 55%
of the Israeli and 55% of the Palestinian Parliament members to vote "yes" for
the same legislation.
The separate Israeli and Palestinian governments will have a veto power over the
legislation. If those governments veto the legislation, it will not become law.
However if they fail to veto it, the legislation will become law.
We suggest that you read the entire Constitution which is available on this
website.
2)Q. Who is eligible to vote for the Israeli Palestinian Confederation?
According to the Israeli Palestinian Confederation Constitution, the elections
shall take place within the state of Israel and Palestine. In order to be
eligible to vote, a person must be a citizen of Palestine or Israel and must
have attained the age of 18 years. The voter must be an inhabitant of Israel or
Palestine at the time of the election, and must be physically within Israel or
Palestine when he or she votes.
3)Q. What is the geographic location of the Israeli Palestinian
Confederation?
The geographic location of the Confederation is the entire State of Israel
(including the Golan Heights), the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. These areas
are referred to in the Constitution as Israel and Palestine.
4)Q. Who is eligible to run for Parliament of the Israeli Palestinian
Confederation?
In order to be elected as a Parliament Member a person must be at least 21 years
of age and a citizen of Israel or Palestine and who for at least 180 days prior
to the election was an inhabitant of the district in which he or she made a bid
for candidacy.
5)Q. Who is eligible to run for President or Vice President of the
Israeli Palestinian confederation?
The President and Vice President must be citizens of Israel or Palestine and
must be at least 35 years of age. The President serves for 2 years and must
rotate with the Vice President after two years. If the President is a
Palestinian citizen, the Vice President must be an Israeli citizen. The person
who receives the most votes will be the first to serve as President. The person
who receives the second largest number of votes, who is of a different
citizenship from that of the President, becomes the Vice President. Both the
President and the Vice President must be inhabitants of Israel or Palestine for
at least 180 days prior to the elections.
6)Q. What happens if the Israeli or Palestinian governments object to
the elections?
The Israeli Palestinian Confederation is an independent entity. It is not
exclusively Israeli or Palestinian. It is a third government made out of
Israelis and Palestinians together. We do not intend to supersede or supplant
the Palestinian or Israeli governments.
We believe that our political power will be dependent on popular local and
international support.
If we are able to achieve the voting and participation of both the Israelis and
the Palestinians, and to get International support, we will be able to pass
legislation of an important nature. We believe that the Israeli and Palestinian
governments will understand the great service and opportunity we can provide to
their people and eventually support our government.
7)Q. What happens if the Israeli and Palestinian governments ignore the
results?
The Israeli and Palestinian governments will not be able to ignore the results
if we get substantial popular support. In the event we get support from the
Palestinians, Israelis, and the international community, those governments will
have to seriously examine the options we provide.
One of the questions they will be asked is “what is your position on the Israeli
Palestinian Confederation government that is now being created.” A responsible
government will not be able, in good conscience, to ignore the Israeli
Palestinian Confederation solution, and claim at the same time that they are
leaving no stone unturned in their quest for peace.
8)Q. How do you prevent fraud in the elections?
We do not anticipate that many people would want to sway the results one way or
another.
Some people may want to prevent the elections altogether. We have created
multiple and alternative layers of security to prevent hacking or other
malicious conduct to our servers.
We are using various methods such as mailing and phone interview and personal
inspections to make sure that the people who register as candidates and as
voters provide us with legitimate information.
The idea of online voting has been accepted by many countries and states as well
as multinational corporations around the world. Even conventional voting is not
100% safe. We are confident that our system will be as safe as, and possibly
safer than conventional voting.
9)Q. Will there be the same number of Israeli and Palestinian Parliament
members?
The total number of anticipated Palestinian districts and Parliament members for
the December 12, 2012 elections will be approximately 107, based on Palestinian
population of approximately 4 million people. The total number of Israeli
districts and parliament members will be approximately 193, based on the
approximate population of 7.5 million Israelis.
We have used the numbers provided by the Palestinian and Israeli bureaus of
statistics. These numbers may slightly change if there is a shift in the
proportionate population.
It is important, however, to understand that in order to pass legislation, the
total number of Palestinian or Israeli districts is immaterial. What is
important to know is that in order to pass legislation, 55% of the Palestinian
and 55% of the Israeli Parliament members will have to vote "yes,” such that
even if the Israelis have more representatives, they will not be able to pass
legislation without the consent of at least 55% of the Palestinian parliament
members. The number of Palestinian and Israeli representatives may change in the
future depending on total population growth for each side.
10)Q. Where will the Parliament members meet, and how will they vote and
discuss legislation?
Initially, the Parliament and the entire Confederation will discuss and meet
over the Internet. We believe that the Internet will help us overcome any travel
or timing restrictions which the Parliament members may face. In addition, the
discussion and voting will be completely transparent. The whole world will be
able to see the discussion and how each Parliament member voted.
11)Q. Will the members of the Parliament and Confederation receive
compensation?
Initially the entire membership of the Parliament and the Confederation will
receive no compensation. However, should the Confederation become able to raise
funds sufficient to compensate its members, the Parliament members may choose to
vote in favor of paying compensation to the Confederation members.
12)Q. Would an Israeli be able to vote for a Palestinian? Or a
Palestinian vote for an Israeli?
The election is based on districts. A person will be able to vote for any
candidate in his or her district regardless of the nationality of the candidate.
13)Q. What if a district has both Israeli and Palestinian citizens?
A person will be able to vote for any candidate in his or her district
regardless of the nationality of the candidate or the voter.
14)Q. Can Israelis and Palestinians who reside outside of Israel or
Palestine vote?
No. In order to vote a person has to be a Citizen of Palestine or Israel and
must be an inhabitant of the districts for 6 months.
15) Can a person run for both, the President and Parliament at the same
time?
Yes, but if he is chosen to Parliament and for President or Vice President, he
will have to make a choice . He cannot serve in the Parliament and as President
or Vice President at the same time.
16)Q. Why would a Confederation succeed in making peace when the Israeli
and Palestinian government did not?
Current approach – The Israeli and Palestinian governments deal with each other
as adversaries.
IPC approach – We are an independent government for both Palestinians and
Israelis together. We must solve issues in a way that will be acceptable to
both.
Current approach - The Israeli and Palestinian governments dedicate a fraction
of their time to dealing with the issue of peace.
IPC approach - The IPC government will spend 100% of its time dealing with the
issue of peace.
Current approach – Both the Israeli and Palestinian governments have dual and
sometimes conflicting tasks. Many times those governments have to appease their
constituents who demand that their government will be “tough” towards the other
side, making it hard for those governments to work towards peace and be “tough”
against each other at the same time.
IPC approach - IPC constituents are Palestinians and Israelis who demand one
thing only: Peace. We do not have dual or conflicting tasks.
Current approach - Many times, the negotiations by the Israeli and Palestinian
governments are in and of themselves a catalyst for violence. Violence is used
frequently as a means to derail the negotiations or agreements between those
governments.
IPC approach - IPC legislative sessions will take place between 300 parliament
members on a daily basis. The meetings and voting will mostly be incremental and
mundane. In all likelihood, they will not deal with ultimate issues at one time,
and therefore will not attract efforts to derail them. The ultimate issues will
be resolved in an incremental manner.
17)Q How can the Israeli Palestinian Confederation resolve difficult
questions such as the occupation, Jerusalem, refugees, and terror?
We do not know how the Parliament of the Confederation will choose to deal with
these issues. What we do know is that the Confederation will have certain tools
which have never been available to either the Israeli or Palestinian
governments. These tools will enhance the possibility that IPC will be able to
tackle those issues and resolve them.
1) Objectivity - Since the IPC is an independent government for the Palestinians
and Israelis together, it is designed to solve issues in a manner that is
beneficial to both peoples and not just to one side. As such, their ideas for
solutions must be acceptable to both sides.
2) Sustainability - IPC is exclusively designed to negotiate and reach an
agreement between its parliament members. IPC has no purpose other than to
discuss these issues daily and resolve them by peaceful means. The whole purpose
of IPC is to make peace.
3) Flexibility - Because IPC is an independent government for both Palestinians
and Israelis together, it has greater flexibility to suggest innovative or
partial solutions which have not been suggested by the separate Palestinian or
Israeli governments.
4) Accessibility - Because IPC is made out of Palestinians and Israelis
together, it will have greater access to governments and people which are now
being denied to one side or the other, or both.
18)Q. If I do not trust them, how can I be in the same government with
them?
The Confederation government is created in such a way that the cooperation of
both sides is essential. We have created multiple layers of checks and balances
so that one side is unable to take advantage of the other. This system of
governance requires the cooperation of both sides. Without cooperation, nothing
gets done.
For example, in order to pass legislation, you will need at least 55% of the
Palestinian and at least 55% of the Israeli Parliament members to vote "yes" on
the same legislation. If either side does not agree with the legislation, it
cannot pass. Subsequently, you allow the Israeli and Palestinian heads of state
and Parliament an opportunity to veto the legislation.
Should any one of them veto the legislation, it cannot pass. There are many
other examples which we can cite to demonstrate how our Constitution promotes
checks and balances.
Please read our entire constitution. You will realize that we were very
sensitive to the issue of equality and cooperation.
19)Q. Is it fair for people outside the area to dictate a Confederation?
Throughout history and up until today, people, governments, and other entities
all over the world have attempted to influence events in this region. In fact,
the creation of the State of Israel was conceived outside the region. The
Israeli Palestinian conflict has grown to worldwide proportions. People all over
the world are affected by this conflict. This conflict is discussed and is being
written upon daily in the media worldwide. Israelis and Palestinians are
scattered all over the world, and have strong emotional, political, and
economical ties to the region.
Governments and private individuals worldwide are constantly lobbying their
governments in an effort to influence decisions in the area.
The Israeli and Palestinian governments have failed for decades to reach
resolution, and in many cases have made the situation worse.
Our organization is made up of Palestinians, Israelis, and people of other
backgrounds and religions. We believe that sometimes a fair and reasonable
approach to the conflict is better when seen from the outside. The Israelis and
Palestinians are engulfed in the conflict, and many times it is hard to see
things objectively. We are proud to suggest a mechanism to help resolve the
conflict.
20)Q. Who is considered to be a Palestinian citizen?
A citizen of Palestine is a person who is recognized under Palestinian law as a
citizen of Palestine.
21)Q. Who is considered to be an Israeli citizen?
A citizen of Israel is a person who is recognized under Israeli law as a citizen
of Israel
22)Q. Can the Constitution be changed?
Yes. the Israeli Palestinian Confederation Parliament may amend the
Constitution, provided the proposed amendment passes the vote of the Palestinian
and Israeli members, as described below.
23)Q. What can I do to help?
If you are an inhabitant of the area and are a Citizen of Israel or Palestine,
you can register to vote and you may register to run for Parliament or
President.
If you reside outside Israel or Palestine, you can encourage those whom you know
within Israel or Palestine to register to vote and run for Parliament or
Presidency.
Get educated about the subject. Read all of our material. We believe that the
more you read, the more the idea of a Confederation becomes attractive.
Regardless of where you reside, we need financial support. You can make your
contribution online. Please go to our “contribution page” and help make history
happen.
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