In an article in 'The Washington Post' today, Kissinger said the barrier, which Israel says it is constructing for protection against Palestinian terrorists, could lead to a provisional Palestinian State without an agreement, as it involves dismantling Jewish settlements beyond the fence if the Jewish settlers and the Arabs cannot live together.
He also advocates a provisional partition of Jerusalem as part of a provisional Arab State pending a final solution.
Suggesting that a settlement imposed by the so-called Quartet - Russia, EU, the UN and the US - would not work, Kissinger says that though a psychological framework for an agreement is emerging in Israel, an interim agreement may be the only way to keep refugee issue from blocking a settlement.
A final agreement must resolve the refugee question. "No Israeli Government can settle for less; no Palestinian leader has yet been found to unambiguously renounce the right of return," he said.
"If that problem should prove insoluble, the security fence could provide a provisional dividing line that makes possible a Palestinian state even before a final settlement."
Territorial adjustments could be balanced by returning portions of Israeli territory to Palestinian rule. Particular attention should be paid to areas where a return of Arab population would ease the democratic problem.