Lieberman Plan

The Lieberman Plan, also known in Israel as the "Populated-Area Exchange Plan", was proposed in May 2004 by Avigdor Lieberman, the leader of the Israeli political party Yisrael Beiteinu. The plan suggested an exchange of "populated territories" – territories populated by both Arabs and Jews – between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Lieberman maintained that everywhere in the world where there are two peoples with two religions, a conflict exists, and noted that in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the situation was worse, as there was not only a religious conflict, but also a nationalistic one. Therefore, the proposition was based on 'reduction of conflict' and maintained that the two peoples could live together, but it would make no sense to have one living inside the other. On top of this, Lieberman maintained that it made no sense to create a Palestinian state that has no Jewish people while Israel was turned into a dual-population state with more than 20% of minorities. In general, Arab Israelis were opposed to the plan and many believed it constituted racism. The Israeli left also opposed the plan. Legal experts cast doubt on the legality of such a move under Israeli and international law.