It is becoming evident that there is no alternative to the
two-state solution unless you either support an apartheid state, or don’t care
about having a Jewish majority state. The only option for the survival of a
Jewish and democratic state of Israel is a two-state solution where compromises
will have to be made for peace.
Both Israelis and Palestinians are refusing to accept
reality when it comes to a long-term solution, and in doing so, they have made
it even more complicated and unpleasant to find a lasting agreement that
respects the rights to self-determination of both peoples.
Palestinian rejectionism is the core reason for the lack of
peace and a long-term solution. It is absolutely true that Palestinians have
refused every opportunity for peace, and that public opinion is very much
against a compromise that allows the state of Israel to exist side by side in
peace with the Palestinians.
Fatah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are cursed at
and criticized as ‘collaborators’ with Israel. That being said, it also doesn’t
really matter that it is unpopular because there is no alternative.
Palestinians who refuse to accept that the state of Israel
is not going anywhere are perpetuating a fantasy that prevents them from moving
forward in a healthy and prosperous society, and this will continue as long as
public opinion pushes this narrative in schools, television, newspapers, and
government.
Perhaps more problematic for the Palestinians than for the
Israelis, the longer they wait to actually negotiate in good faith, the less
they have to bargain with – a fact even Mahmoud Abbas agreed with when he
stated in an interview that the Palestinians were wrong to reject the UN
Partition Plan.
On the Israeli side, those who approach the conflict with a
zero-compromise attitude about settlements are refusing to acknowledge the
reality that Palestinians aren’t going anywhere. The idea that Palestinians
should just up and leave to Jordan or any other Arab state is as offensive as
it is unrealistic.
Regardless that the land historically belongs to the Jews,
and that it is unquestionably part of historical Israel, none of that means
that Jews must demand and settle all of it now.
While the Left exaggerates the role of settlements in the
conflict, it is important to note that while new settlements (not settlement
blocs) are not the obstacle to peace, they are an obstacle.
Palestinians refuse to acknowledge the State of Israel’s
right to exist as a Jewish (and democratic) state, but using that as an excuse
to further develop settlements, or push policies that will make an eventual
division more difficult, is paving the path toward conflict and bloodshed on
both sides.
Furthermore, refusing to acknowledge the unimaginable damage
that annexation (with or without full civil rights to Palestinians) would cause
the state of Israel is irresponsible, no matter how far away or unpopular the
two-state solution is today.
Opponents of my arguments would rightly point out that when
Israel did give up land for peace all it got in return was violence, like in
Gaza. Even more relevant, one could argue that if withdrawing to 1967 lines was
the key to peace, why was there violence before 1967?
I am not claiming that a two-state solution will bring a
warm peace between two peoples. There will still be conflict, likely for a very
long time. But the status quo hasn’t brought peace either. Israel has had wave
after wave of violence and terrorism, with or without occupation, and by
continuing to push policies that make the two-state solution harder to achieve,
we are laying the groundwork for worse conflict in the future. Israel can
invest in resources that will protect the Jewish and democratic state with less
territory instead of taking action to worsen the conflict down the road.
At a certain point, it doesn’t matter who is right or whose
fault it was, it matters what can be done about it. Obsessing over Palestinians
embracing terrorism and rejecting Israel’s right to exist isn’t going to
bring us as Israelis any closer to peace.
The reality is that for Israel and the Palestinians, it is
going to take a leader who is willing to commit political suicide to implement
a two-state solution, and it is not going to be an easy path. It is, however,
going to be even worse if both sides continue in the direction they have been
for the past few decades.
No matter how unpopular is the two-state solution, it is
still the only chance Israel has for remaining both democratic and Jewish.
Israel cannot control what the Palestinians think or that they do not recognize
Israel’s legitimacy, but it can take responsibility for its own future and
pursue two states. Ultimately, Israel must decide what it wants.
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