Five Reasons Why the Two-State Solution Just Won’t Die
By all accounts it’s time to say a kaddish — the traditional Jewish prayer for the dead — over the idea of a Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with Israel.
A recent article in the National Interest, running under the cover “Requiem for the Two-State Promise,” provides a compelling eulogy and funeral oration all in one. And Stephen Walt, a fellow FP contributor, once again attributing most of the ills of Western civilization to the “Israel lobby,” all but buried two states on his blog last week.
To paraphrase Mark Twain, signs of the two-state solution’s demise aren’t exaggerated.
Israeli settlement activity continues unabated. In fact, in a truly bizarre and tortuous bit of twisted logic, a recent report by a committee created by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu actually recommended sanctioning the Israeli activity.
The Palestinian national movement is deeply divided between Fatah (itself split) and Hamas, the rival ruling parties, and resembles a veritable Noah’s ark, with two of everything: mini-states; constitutions, prime ministers, security services; funders, and so on. And the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority (PA) is too busy right now trying to decide whether to dig up the remains of a truly dead entity — Yasir Arafat — in an effort to figure out the cause of his demise. Meanwhile, back on planet Earth, Israel — run by the deepest unity government in its history — is unified around a coalition agreement that ensures a do-nothing approach on this issue for at least the next year.
As for U.S. President Barack Obama, well let’s just say he’s busy and not interested in getting into a fight with a tough-minded Israeli prime minister over an idea whose time — to put it mildly — hasn’t yet come.
Still, hope springs virtually eternal. Anyone truly worried about the demise of the two-state solution shouldn’t be. It will live on both as an idea and maybe even a reality if Israelis and Palestinians ever get serious about paying the price and seriously negotiating a solution. And here are five reasons why.