Israel and the West Bank Palestinians

Abstract

Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs in the region west of the Jordan River have, in effect, constituted a bicommunal polity for much of this century. Little academic attention, however, has been given to a bicommunal perspective on Israeli-Palestinian relations. Three theoretical models for understanding bicommunal polities are suggested at the outset of the article: dual authority, control, and shared rule. Within the control model, two variations are identified: the joint control system that describes the 1967-1976 period and the competitive control framework that has replaced it. The failure of both systems of control to provide stability and the likelihood that a dual authority will be unable to provide stability suggest a need to consider a special version of shared rule in the West Bank.