For decades the resolution to the Palestine-Israel conundrum has proved elusive and the reason for that has been staring us in the face for years. The fact is; the elitists of both sides want all of the lands that were once Palestine and that are now Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, for their respective selves. The Zionists want all of the lands – and then some – in order to realise their dream of creating a Greater Israel while on the other side of the coin there are some elitist Palestinians who want a nation free of all Jews. These are both ‘one state for one people’ options.
That’s two options; what of the other two?
The ‘two-states for two peoples’ option has for years been the most talked about by both sides – and most of the international community – but, despite concerted efforts, the Israelis have demanded too much for the Palestinians to concede to. Over the years the Israelis have taken over lands that were earmarked to become part of a Palestinian state. Now there is little left for the Palestinians to call a ‘state’. But still the option gets pushed by some.
In the middle, of course, are the ordinary people of the region, both Jews and Arabs, who just want a peaceful life free of fear and full of opportunity – which brings us to option four, the only real and ultimately viable option, the One-State solution, though it may only come about after the others have failed.
There is now so little of the West Bank in Palestinian hands that there is no chance of building a viable sovereign state with what’s left. Israeli settlers have taken over the choicest tracts of land to build their settlements on and the roads and associated corridors that link them have denied or restricted the Palestinian people freedom to move around what is left of their lands. The Israeli settlements are now so entrenched and so populated that they are past any point of being reversed. They are also so large that any ‘land swap’ deal is well beyond reality. Annexation, while being demanded by the settlers, would likely trigger a third and far more vicious Intifada that could, in turn, trigger a regional war not to mention the wrath of the international community.
At long last some influential Palestinians have arrived at the view that realises that the two-states-for-two-peoples solution is just never going to happen and that the only viable long term solution is going to be the One-State solution that allows Jews and Arabs to live free and as equals in a land that is one from the Jordan River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west and from the Lebanese border in the north to the Sinai border in the South.
The push for a One-State solution needs the support of all Palestinians and, of course, the international community including the UN. It’s going to be long and hard road ahead especially trying to convince those elitists that still envisage one for or another of the other options. None of those others are ever going to happen. It’s just a matter of time before everyone realises that.
