Getting Real about a Palestinian State

Something different is happening among the Palestinians. Their political leaders and civil servants are spending more time planning for a Palestinian state than criticizing the Israelis for their intransigence.

During the first congress of the leading Palestinian movement, Fatah, in 20 years, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas refused to be dragged into belligerent rhetoric. He insisted that although Palestinians have the right to use all forms of resistance, he chooses diplomacy. The 2,000-strong congress of Fatah activists from around the world agreed last month to a platform that does not refer to armed resistance. Nonviolent direct action, however, is a different matter.

No one understood Abbas' call to look forward more than Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. After the congress, he huddled with his key staff and Cabinet ministers to create a plan that aims for a Palestinian state in two years. Fayyad unveiled this blueprint in late August, outlining a practical approach to terminate the Palestinian economy's dependence on Israel, unify the legal system and downsize the government.

The plan also involves building infrastructure, offering tax incentives to garner foreign investment, harnessing natural energy sources and water, as well as improving housing, education and agriculture. Among the other strategic ideas in Fayyad's plan are an oil refinery, a new international airport in the Jordan Valley and the reclaiming of the existing Qalandia airport north of Jerusalem. The prime minister has told U.S. officials that "we want to receive [President Obama] landing in his Air Force One, not the Marine helicopter" from Israel.