The two-state solution or the one-state crisis? Is a two-state solution possible?
Is a two-state solution possible? Or will it have to be a one-state solution? Tel Aviv's policies stood stand in the way of achieving Arab-Israeli peace, writes Ahmad Abdul-Rahman from Egypt.
The Palestinians and Israelis agree on the impossibility of reaching the so-called two-state solution in the short term. That solution provides the Palestinians with a sovereign state on the basis of the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem being its capital, in accordance with United Nations resolutions and the rules of the Madrid Peace Conference.
There is no doubt that the chances of achieving this solution are diminishing each year. Israel continues to expand with its massive Israeli settlements in the West Bank. As a consequence, of the Jordan River, some say that it is more realistic to seek to achieve a one-state solution that brings the Palestinian and Israeli peoples together on one land and with a common identity. Here, as Nabil Fahmy, the former Egyptian foreign minister, says, there is a difference in attitudes, opinions, and goals among the supporters of a single state. This idea is concerned about the meaning, significance, form and components of a single state. One of the most important differences in adopting a one-state solution is that a number of people that makes it difficult to describe this alternative as a solution is that quite a few number from both sides seek to employ the one-state solution, not to unite the two peoples around a common identity, but to give priority to their national identity over the other national identity.
Israel seeks to dominate the Palestinians through displacement and a security blockade. This is not surprising, because the Palestinian-Israeli conflict revolves around their national identity on a disputed land. Some insist that the Palestinian goal is to establish an independent Palestinian national state with East Jerusalem as its capital, but this goal is unlikely to be achieved. Fahmy says: "I agree with them on that, but those who think that this right will be translated into reality are mistaken." He also said: "The biggest evidence for this from my point of view is that Israel has continued its expansion over decades. Indeed, the perception of international legitimacy to achieve a Palestinian state in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip was also limited to 22 per cent of what was allocated to it in accordance with Partition Resolution No. 181 in November 1947". This resolution called for the establishment of Jewish and Palestinian states.
To justify accepting the one-state solution, some are demanding that the fait accompli be accepted by the Palestinians and that they accept the proposal from the perspective of political realism.
The mistake made by both the Palestinians and Arabs is perhaps that they sought the dominance of their own peoples over others, and to establish their own state rather than not rejecting the fait accompli at the time. They also failed to reclaim the land whenever there was an opportunity to do so, while continuing the effort and seeking in various ways to restore more of it, thereby completing the rights towards the establishment of their state.
Many believe that it is Tel Aviv's policies that have stood in the way of achieving Arab-Israeli peace. The majority of their people do not support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on its borders. In confirmation of these positions, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who represents the political center-right, recently stated that the State of Israel will not be a bi-national state and that the two-state solution is an illusion. He went on to confirm say that the perception of life next to an independent Palestinian state, or in an Israeli state without Arabs, is nothing but an "illusion of the Israeli left and right".
If Benjamin Netanyahu is re-elected in November or forms a right-wing alliance after the elections, the right-wing movement will accelerate to try even harder to establish their vision. They want a solution to be reached before the upcoming US elections in 2024, while employing a nuclear agreement with Iran.
The Arab world is starting to accept the likelihood of a one-state policy. However, the Palestinians must move quickly to achieve this. To activate a two-state solution they want to highlight the suffering of the Palestinians and Israel's legal violations in its dealings with the Palestinians. This step will have a growing resonance with the new generations internationally, as well as addressing the Israeli interior with its various groups and sects. Palestine wants to highlight the benefits of peace and warns against the danger of continuing the conflict or malicious proposals so that peace will not be achieved peace, and will fuel future conflict and crises.
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