Using Asset Divider to investigate the Israel - Palestinian dispute

Negotiation support systems can provide useful advice and allow disputants to more understand their goals and perform the trade-offs necessary to arrive at acceptable solutions. Whilst the Middle East conflict is a complex multi-party dispute, it might prove useful to examine it from the point of view of interest-based negotiation. Asset Divider is an interest based negotiation support system developed to support family mediation in Australia. When data about the Israel-Palestinian dispute was entered in the system, Asset Divider suggested that a Palestinian State should be created with East Jerusalem as its capital as long as the Palestinians recognised Israel, stopped or heavily limited terrorism and ceased asking for a right of return. Israel would also need to dismantle the fence and most settlements, whilst Palestine would need to discourage other Arab States and Iran from being belligerent towards Israel. Interestingly enough this suggestion is similar to the successful Camp David accords between Israel and Egypt, where Israel gave up territory for recognition and security.