THE WISDOM FUND: News & Views
September 3, 2010
The Washington Post

Israel and Palestine: A True One-State Solution

by Prof. George Bisharat

"Where is the Palestinian Mandela?" pundits occasionally ask. But after these latest Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in Washington fail -- as they inevitably will -- the more pressing question may be: "Where is the Israeli de Klerk?" Will an Israeli leader emerge with the former South African president's moral courage and foresight to dismantle a discriminatory regime and foster democracy based on equal rights?

For decades, the international community has assumed that historic Palestine must be divided between Jews and Palestinians. Yet no satisfactory division of the land has been reached. Israel has aggravated the problem by settling roughly 500,000 Jews in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, eliminating the land base for a viable Palestinian state.

A de facto one-state reality has emerged, with Israel effectively ruling virtually all of the former Palestine. Yet only Jews enjoy full rights in this functionally unitary political system. In contrast, Palestinian citizens of Israel endure more than 35 laws that explicitly privilege Jews as well as policies that deliberately marginalize them. West Bank Palestinians cannot drive on roads built for Israeli settlers, while Palestinians in Gaza watch as their children's intellectual and physical growth are stunted by an Israeli siege that has limited educational opportunities and deepened poverty to acute levels. . . .

FULL TEXT



TWO-STATE SOLUTION -- Proposed framework for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

IF AMERICANS KNEW -- What every American needs to know about Israel / Palestine

"A Letter from Nelson Mandela to Thomas Friedman," bintjbeil.com, March 30, 2001

VIDEO: "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid . . . Jimmy Carter in His Own Words," democracynow.org, November 30, 2006

[Gush Shalom, under the leadership of Mr. Avnery, is foursquare behind the so-called Two State Solution, along with some strange bedfellows, such as the hard line Zionist government and military, the American neo-cons, the Republicrats, the puppet Palestinian "government, " the "Christian" Zionists--Roger Tucker, "Letter to Uri Avnery, Noam Chomsky and Jimmy Carter," israelshamir.net, 2007]

[Bush's "war on terror" is a hoax that serves to cover U.S. intervention in the Middle East on behalf of "greater Israel."--Paul Craig Roberts, "What the Iraq War Is About," antiwar.com, April 23, 2008]

Rory McCarthy, "Palestinians Lose Faith in Two-State Solution," Guardian, September 4, 2008

"Gaza Situation 'Desperate'," The Wisdom Fund, January 7, 2010

[Leaving aside the fairy story of God's promise, (which even if true would have no bearing on the matter because the Jews who "returned" in answer to Zionism's call had no biological connection to the ancient Hebrews), the Zionist state's assertion of legitimacy rests on the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the UN General Assembly's partition plan resolution of 1947.

The only real relevance of the Balfour Declaration is in the fact that it was an expression of both the willingness of a British government to use Jews for imperial purposes and the willingness of Zionist Jews to be used.--Alan Hart, "Israel Is Illegitimate," countercurrents.org, April 5, 2010]

Nora Barrows-Friedman, "Diana Buttu: direct talks bound to fail," The Electronic Intifada, August 30, 2010

[In Oslo, it should be recalled, Abbas, as the chief Palestinian negotiator, played Neville Chamberlain for Tel Aviv, agreeing to surrender occupied Palestinian land with a view toward putting a permanent end to Palestinian resistance and, immediately, to the first Intifada.--Jeffrey Blankfort, "Mahmoud Abbas: Double Agent," CounterPunch, August 31, 2010]

[ . . . the Strategic Foresight Group in India . . . calculates that conflict in the area over the last 20 years has cost the nations and people of the region 12 trillion U.S. dollars. . . .

"One conclusion is that individuals in most countries are half as rich as they would have been if peace had taken off in 1991.

"Incomes per head in Israel next year would be $44,241 with peace against a likely $23,304. In the West Bank and Gaza Strip they would be $2,427 instead of $1,220.

"For Iraq, income per head next year is projected at $2,375, one quarter of the $9,681 that would have been possible without the conflicts of the past two decades."--Rick Rozoff, "Middle East loses Trillions as U.S. strikes record Arms Deals," mediamonitors.net, September 3, 2010]

"Obama UN Speech on Mideast Talks 'Filled with Empty Words'--Palestinian Attorney Diana Buttu," democracynow.org, September 24, 2010

"The Settlement Freeze and the Peace Process Freeze," thejerusalemfund.org, September 28, 2010

John Mearsheimer on the State of the Israel Lobby, Institute for Palestine Studies, Fall 2010

"PLO envoy: Israel is playing politics," usatoday.com, October 13, 2010

[Brazil became the first of several South American countries in recent weeks to recognize a Palestine state along pre-1967 borders.

Since then Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia and Ecuador have done the same. Chile, Mexico, Peru and Nicaragua are reported to be considering recognition.--"Brazil hosts first Palestine embassy in Americas," Reuters, December 31, 2010]

[To break the logjam it will be necessary to dismantle the reigning illusion that the U.S. is an "honest broker" desperately seeking to reconcile recalcitrant adversaries, and to recognize that serious negotiations would be between the U.S.-Israel and the rest of the world.--Noam Chomsky, "Breaking the Israel-Palestine Deadlock," usatoday.com, January 3, 2011]

[A declaration signed by dozens of prominent Israeli academics, writers and artists welcoming a Palestinian state on the basis of Israel's 1967 borders was presented Thursday at the site of Israel's 1948 proclamation of independence.--Joel Greenberg, "Israeli intellectuals back Palestinian state," washingtonpost.com, April 21, 2011]

Akiva Eldar, "New Palestinian strategy document will make it difficult for U.S. to oppose UN vote," Haaretz, August 30, 2011

John Glaser, "Israel Objects to Palestinian Statehood to Avoid War Crimes Investigations," antiwar.com, September 2, 2011

Carlo Strenger, "2011: The year the two state solution died," haaretz.com, December 28, 2011

Jeff Halper, "The end of the 'two-state solution' is the beginning of a more just future," mondoweiss.net, February 19, 2012

[Islam saved Jewry.--David J Wasserstein, "So, what did the Muslims do for the Jews?," thejc.com, May 24, 2012]

VIDEO: "Israeli historian Professor Ilan Pappe addresses the National Press Club," abc.net.au, September 19, 2012

Kevin Barrett, "Kissinger, US intelligence community endorse 'World Without Israel'," presstv.ir, September 30, 2012

Harriet Sherwood, "Israeli poll finds majority in favour of 'apartheid' policies: Two-thirds say Palestinians should not be allowed to vote if West Bank was annexed, while three in four favour segregated roads," guardian.co.uk, October 23, 2012

Rachel Shabi, "The death of the Israel-Palestine two-state solution brings fresh hope: With many Palestinians and Israelis coming round to the idea of a bi-national state, it's possible to glimpse a peaceful future," guardian.co.uk, October 23, 2012

Alan Hart, "Final Thoughts on Zionism's Success and Arab Failure," alanhart.net, May 4, 2013]

[NO, THE two-state solution is not dead. It cannot die, because it is the only solution there is.--Uri Avnery, "The Donkey of the Messiah," gush-shalom.org, May 11, 2013]

John Spritzler, "Uri Avnery's Specious Attack On The One State Solution," newdemocracyworld.org, May 13, 2013

Ian S. Lustick, "Two-State Illusion," nytimes.com, September 14, 2013

Noam Chomsky, "The One State/Two State Debate is Irrelevant as Israel and the US Consolidate Greater Israel," mondoweiss.net, October 27, 2013

William Booth and Ruth Eglash, "A Greater Israel? Faction says no to two-state solution, yes to annexing Palestinian areas," Washington Post, November 5, 2013

[Its central argument holds that the Jews of Europe, the Ashkenazim, are largely descendants of peoples who converted to Judaism in the distant past and that the claim that all Jews descend from ancient Israelites is false. Therefore the contention that European Jews are reclaiming ancient rights to their homeland in what is now Israel is a false claim. Moreover, the peoples now known as "Palestinians" are in all likelihood much more closely descended genetically from the ancient Israelites but who in the course of history converted for one reason or another either to Christianity or to Islam, and who therefore have a just claim to the land. Nevertheless, Sand strongly endorses Israel's right to exist but he favors a bi-national state in which Jews and "Arabs" share equal rights.--Paul Atwood, "Whatever Happened to Shlomo Sand? Missing in Action After the Storm Over 'The Invention of the Jewish People'," counterpunch.org, February 14, 2014]

Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett, "The Two-State Solution Is Dead," antiwar.com, July 15, 2014

[Given Netanyahu's personal commitment to keeping the West Bank and creating a "greater Israel," the last thing he wants is a unified Palestinian leadership that might press him to get serious about a two-state solution.--Stephen M. Walt, "AIPAC Is the Only Explanation for America's Morally Bankrupt Israel Policy," huffingtonpost.com, July 22, 2014]

Miko Peled, "Israel and Gaza: Six Decades of Oppression and Resistance," August 22, 2014

[ . . . numerous Jewish and Palestinian scholars have mutually accentuated the one and only solution to the crisis. As Edward Said puts it, Oslo "set the stage for separation," yet permanent peace can happen only with a binational Israeli-Palestinian state.--Ibrahim Halawi, "In memory of Edward Said: the one-state solution," middleeasteye.net, October 16, 2014]

Alison Weir, "Against Our Better Judgment: The Hidden History of How the U.S. Was Used to Create Israel," May 8, 2015

Khaled Abu Toahmeh, "Poll: Majority of Palestinians want Abbas to resign, no longer support two-state solution," jpost.com, September 21, 2015

[in Israel's eyes, the two state solution was never a serious consideration--Franklin Spinney, "How Israel Killed the 'Two-State Solution'," counterpunch.org, April 19, 2016]

Gideon Levy, Two-State Solution Debate, OxfordUnion, June 26, 2016

[Among the plan's recommendations are the complete demilitarisation of Palestine despite it being defined as a "sovereign" territory, a comprehensive border surveillance infrastructure, and a permanent US military operation to police the Jordan River.--Nafeez Ahmed, "The new 'two-state solution' that will colonise Palestine," middleeasteye.net, August 18, 2016]

[Honest observers on both sides of the conflict have long acknowledged that the prospects for a two-state solution are virtually non-existent: another way of saying that Israel's status as a permanent apartheid regime is inevitable.--Glenn Greenwald, "U.S. Admits Israel Is Building Permanent Apartheid Regime -- Weeks After Giving It $38 Billion," theintercept.com, October 6, 2016]

Jonathan Marshall, "Death of the 'Two-State Solution'," consortiumnews.com, November 16, 2016

Joshua Mitnick, "With the two-state solution a distant dream, Palestinians ask if it's time to push for a one-state solution," latimes.com, December 29, 2016

Diana Buttu and Gideon Levy, "Israeli Settlements, Kerry, Military Aid & End of Two-State Solution," December 30, 2016

Robert Fisk, "The Paris peace conference was beyond useless -- everyone knows a two-state solution in Israel and Palestine is impossible now," independent.co.uk, January 16, 2017

[Israeli President Reuven Rivlin . . . said that "Zion is entirely ours," including the territory where Palestinians hope to build a state--Naomi Zeveloff, "Israel's President Backs One-State Solution -- With Equal Rights for Palestinians," forward.com, February 13, 2017]

[Hamas has presented a new political document that accepts the formation of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, without recognising the statehood of Israel, and states that the conflict in Palestine is not a religious one. . . . Hamas does not relinquish its goal of "liberating all of Palestine".--"Hamas accepts Palestinian state with 1967 borders," aljazeera.com, May 1, 2017]

[In return they ask for a U.S.-Saudi-Israeli (military) alliance against their perceived enemy on the eastern side of the Persian Gulf.--"Revealed - Saudis Plan To Give Up Palestine - For War On Iran," moonofalabama.org, November 14, 2017]

Richard Falk, "Only a global solidarity movement, which mounts sufficient pressure on Israel, can create political traction for a secular state shared equally by Israelis and Palestinians," middleeasteye.net, January 2, 2018

Jeff Halper, "The 'two-state solution' only ever meant a big Israel ruling over a Palestinian bantustan. Let it go," haaretz.com, January 19, 2018

Yousef Munayyer, "The Two State Solution Is Dead. Supporting It Is Supporting Occupation," forward.com, January 19, 2018

[First, freedom for the residents of the occupied territories; second, equality for the Palestinian citizens of Israel; and third, justice for Palestinian refugees in the diaspora - the largest group - including the right to return to their homes--Nathan Thrall, "BDS: how a controversial non-violent movement has transformed the Israeli-Palestinian debate," theguardian.com, August 14, 2018]

[The one-state solution envisaged by the Likud government of Israel is a permanent Israel sovereignty over the 5 million occupied Palestinians that does not envisage their being granted citizenship or the franchise. And even the 2 million Palestinian-Israelis are gradually being redefined as even more second-class citizens than before--Juan Cole, "Trump's Recent Remark on Israel Ignores How Apartheid Works," truthdig.com, August 22, 2018]

[the only question is what kind of one state will emerge - secular or apartheid--Richard Falk, "Palestinian leaders need to spell out the truth that one state is here," middleeasteye.net, January 9, 2019]

"Debate: Anti-Zionism is Anti-Semitism," iqsquared, July 26, 2019

Joshua Leifer, "Israel's One-State Reality Is Sowing Chaos In American Politics," lobelog.com, August 29, 2019

[Glossing over the fact that Zionism was ultimately meant to lead to Jewish control of Palestine, Herzl deployed a justification that has been a touchstone for colonialists and that would become a staple argument of the Zionist movement: Jewish immigration would benefit Palestine's Indigenous inhabitants.--Rashid Khalidi, "The Erasure of Palestinians From Trump's Mideast "Peace Plan" Has A Hundred-Year History," The Intercept, February 1, 2020]

[it's Beinart's refusal to show deference to the usual narrative of Jewish victimhood that raises ire.--Yakov Hirsch, "The cultural importance of Peter Beinart," mondoweiss.net, July 26, 2020]

Ramzy Baroud, "Moving Past Apartheid: One-State Is Not Ideal Justice, but It Is Just and Possible," antiwar.com, December 2, 2020

Peter Beinart: Why I no longer believe in a Jewish state, Middle East Eye, June 23, 2021

[Failure to achieve unity around other issues - the peace process, the two-state solution, political representation, the type of resistance against Israel and other contentious points - made the search for common ground more difficult by the day. However, East Jerusalem, Al-Quds and, particularly, Al-Aqsa Mosque, are always a guaranteed platform for national and spiritual unity among all Palestinians.--Ramzy Baroud, "The Limits of Israeli Intelligence: Does Israel Have a Yahya Sinwar Problem?," antiwar.com, May 12, 2022]

Differences Between Sephardic & Ashkenazi Jews, Unpacked, November 16, 2022

[Israeli ambassador condemns the UN move, while Palestinian representative tells UN the world is facing 'end of the road' for two-state solution--"UN approves resolution to commemorate 75th Nakba anniversary," middleeasteye.net, December 1, 2022]

'Liar!' Norm Finkelstein DISMANTLES Hillary Israel Spin, Breaking Points, November 23, 2023

John Mearsheimer: There is no two-state solution, UnHerd, December 15, 2023

Religion is not a basis for nationalism -- has not worked anywhere In Gaza now, it's worse than ethnic cleansing, Al Jazeera, February 25, 2024

Marc Lynch and Shibley Telhami, "The Two-State Mirage," foreignaffairs.com, March/April 2024

Professor Jeffrey Sachs: 'US is complicit in Israeli genocide', Al Jazeera, March 17, 2024


Is a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine possible? Al Jazeera, March 26, 2024

Nathan Thrall received the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for A Day in the Life of Abed Salama. He is also the author of The Only Language They Understand: Forcing Compromise in Israel and Palestine. His writing has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the Guardian, London Review of Books, and the New York Review of Books and been translated into more than twenty languages. He spent a decade at the International Crisis Group, where he was director of the Arab-Israeli Project, and has taught at Bard College. He lives in Jerusalem.-- Nathan Thrall, "A Day in the Life of Abed Salama," amazon.com, August 13, 2024

Why The Two-State Solution Never Worked, AJ+, August 29, 2024

back button