A Two-State Solution or Palestine: The Country. One of These is Better than the Other
American Eclectic posts articles twice a month, on the 1st and 15th. This is the second year of publication; previously published articles can be found on my site.
November 15, 2023
In 1947, the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine, gave its recommendations to the United Nations. Three of the members of the 11-member committee recommended a federal state over the area, which assumed or implied Arab and Jewish parts, seven members recommended two independent states, one Jewish and the other Arab. While Jewish groups continually tried to influence the direction of the committee, Palestinian Arabs boycotted the entire activity of the committee. In 2011, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president stated, “It was our mistake, it was an Arab mistake as a whole, but do they (the Israelis) punish us for this mistake for 64 years?”
The Oslo Accords, first in 1993 led to Israeli and the Palestinian leaderships recognizing each other, then in 1995, a detailed plan was laid out for creating a Palestinian state. The plan had to be understood as complicated and unworkable from the moment it was proposed with three areas, an Area A (under Palestinian control), Area B (under joint control between Palestinian authorities and Israel) and Area C (under Israeli control), yet all three areas were to be a Palestinian state. Right wing groups within Israel opposed the plan and Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two groups Israel is going after in the Gaza Strip now, were opposed to the plan. Hamas was critical of the plan since it saw the plan abdicating what it declared as the right of Palestinians to return to their homeland, the land that is now Israel.
The Oslo complicated and unworkable format, however, is what exists. As a 2022 State Department report on the West Bank and Gaza Strip stated:
The [Palestinian Authority] PA exercises varying degrees of authority in the small portions of the West Bank where it has some measure of control. Although PA laws theoretically apply in the Gaza Strip, the PA does not exercise authority there, and Hamas continues to exercise de facto control over security and other matters.
One site estimates the Palestinian Authority controls approximately 39 percent of the West Bank while the rest is under Israeli control or joint control. The State Department report noted a disturbing development regarding Israel administration in the West Bank:
In a separate incident [on June 16], a Palestinian family returning to Duma stopped at what they incorrectly thought was an IDF checkpoint, where settlers reportedly attacked them; nearby IDF personnel did not intervene. According to Israeli media, one of the settlers removed a blanket covering a baby in the vehicle and pepper-sprayed the infant.
On September 11, settlers from the Havot Ma’on illegal outpost, attacked and reportedly broke both of Hafez Huraini’s arms while he was on his private property. One settler allegedly suffered a fractured skull in the incident. Settlers punctured the tires of the ambulance that attempted to reach the site, according to reports. On September 12, the IDF arrested Huraini for attempted murder. During a hearing at the Ofer Military Court, the judge asked why police had not arrested the settlers involved in the incident. The police representative said that police had requested that settlers from Havat Ma’on report to the police station, but they refused; police can only summon settlers to appear at the police station if an Israeli court issues a warrant for their arrest, which, according to the police official, was rare in such cases.
The report also noted incidents of violence by Palestinians against Israelis. The incidents I noted above, however, I think illustrate the difficulties that exist in administrating anything that has the semblance of justice in the West Bank. The current Oslo structure is by no means perfect, maybe Palestine as a country might have a better chance of providing an improved level of justice. Currently, approximately 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank in about 150 communities. They represent roughly 19 percent of those living in the West Bank, a sizable portion of the overall population and any Palestinian government that controls all of the West Bank suddenly is confronted with a duty beyond just Palestinians Muslims.
Consociational Democracy is one of those terms that political scientists like to use. Getting beyond the too-academic language of the term, however, all the term means is that power-sharing needs to be addressed in the various governmental institutions of a new country. Power-sharing in this case is different than what currently exists, which is not really power-sharing but something that creates the image of Palestinian control or joint control. Palestine as a country with power-sharing divided between Muslims and Jews no longer being Israeli citizens but citizens of a Palestinian country is an entirely different situation. As I typed that last sentence, I realized I used “Muslims” and “Jews” because in a Palestinian country, they are all Palestinians.
Looking at the opposition to creating anything that looks like a Palestinian country, whether from inside Israel or among elements of Palestinians themselves, makes one wonder if anything will change. War can bring about fundamental change, or it can lead to plus ca change (change but no change). The American Civil War ended slavery, although it would have been difficult to clearly state that would be the outcome of the war when it started in 1861. In the case of the United States in Afghanistan, the country is back to where it was before the United States became involved in 2001 with the Taliban back in power. We might quibble over whether Afghanistan should be seen as a war but considering the extent of military operations over twenty years and the more than 2,400 dead and almost 21,000 wounded Americans because of the fighting, and our presence for two decades in the country, there was hope that something fundamental would change for the better in Afghanistan—that did not happen. It certainly stands out that advances made by girls and women while we were there, have all been lost. Reports of an increase in suicides among women are more than disturbing.
What future is there for Palestinians after Israel is done with its operations in the Gaza Strip? One thing that might need to be considered is that divided Palestinians, some in the Gaza Strip and the majority in the West Bank cannot continue. East and West Pakistan created in 1947 when India became a country, provide some insight, although not entirely, both sections of Pakistan had different languages and cultures. It was understandable that, eventually, those differences would create tensions and out of East Pakistan, Bangladesh was created in 1971. In the case of Gaza Strip and the West Bank, those differences that existed between East and West Pakistan are not there.
A Gallup poll noted that since 2013, there has been a steady decline in support among Palestinians for an independent Palestinian state. In 2013, this Gallup poll noted that 59 percent of Palestinians supported a Palestinian state but by 2023 that figure was down to 24 percent. A report by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy stated, regarding what Palestinians want:
[M]ost Palestinians believe that a two-state solution is unlikely to emerge from the conflict. Instead, a majority of them say they prefer to reclaim all of historic Palestine, including the pre-1967 Israel.
It is safe to assume that if Palestinians think that they will achieve what this report outlines, which was completed three months before Hamas attacked Israel, then nothing will change. This statement by the Washington Institute sounds like nothing more than fantasy thinking by, unfortunately, too many Palestinians. The sentiment in this Washington Institute quote in many ways reflected United Nations General Resolution 194, passed in 1948:
Resolves that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property.
Palestinians need to stop thinking along the lines of the position that is the sentiment expressed in the Washington Institute report. A return to a Palestinian homeland is nostalgia thinking that is only harmful to a future of growth, prosperity and real independence for Palestinians. Furthermore, the United Nations needs to begin expressing some more realistic thinking, rather than supporting its own nostalgic thinking. General Assembly statements on this issue seem to have not advanced much beyond the 1948 resolution.
There is a need to stop using the term “two-state solution,” which is reappearing in articles and public opinion polls—it sounds as though it says something, but it fails to precisely address the issue. There is a need to lay out proposals for a Palestine that is a country with details rather than vague references or public opinion polls addressing whether Israelis or Palestinians support or oppose a two-state solution. A land swap is probably part of any serious proposals where Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip move to land in Israel adjacent to the West Bank, which means Israel giving that land up and understanding it will become part of a Palestinian country: Israel gets the Gaza Strip. A possible alternative to something that might seem less drastic is Israel giving up land to create a bridge of land that connects the West Bank to the Gaza Strip, which still might mean displacing families and communities.: A Palestinian country with access to a sea or a land-locked country.
Is any of this feasible?
An actual country that encompasses more land than the current size of the West Bank and which does not include the current functioning of three areas within the West Bank has to be better than what currently exists.
Numerous governing and administrative issues exist, of course, what else is new? Israelis living in the West Bank suddenly coming under the authority of a Palestinian government rather than expecting the Israeli government to come to their defense but dealing with a Palestinian government, with both administrative and judicial status, has to be a thought bordering on a nightmare. The numerous religious sites in the West Bank where Jews, Christians and Muslims all worship, including the Church of the Nativity, open up questions about access by tourists as well as worshippers—again, what else is new?
Mahmoud Abbas, as the leader of a Palestine country, raises issues of whether he should lead the way toward anything—he is 87. In addition, Hamas emerged in the Gaza Strip because of a failure of his leadership and organization. Thinking in terms of a Palestine as a country, might help to force the issue of a leadership for a future country. The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank has indicated it would be interested in playing a role in governing Gaza Strip. A Palestine as a country, however, should open the way to the Palestinian Authority maybe seeing its days as numbered. Originally, it was supposed to be an interim government, associated with the Oslo Accords. A process needs to be addressed where competing political parties can emerge to challenge its rule. One description stated that “Abbas has ruled by decree” since 2007, when Hamas emerged to control the Gaza Strip. Addressing the issue of country as opposed to a two-state solution, will force this issue to also be confronted, while focusing on a two-state solution will not.
We are in the early stages of a long war with death and destruction headed toward higher levels. That is a terrible thought to realize yet know that is what is coming. There are Israeli officials who seem to be thinking with no future plans: At least some of them. The Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told the Knesset foreign and defense committee that once the war is over Israel will, as he stated, “[have no] responsibility for life in the Gaza Strip.” While another Israeli official stated, “Israel will not be part of the solution in terms of giving [Gazans] work. We’ve disconnected the umbilical cord.” More death and destruction to come and then just pack up and leave. Statements like these two from Israeli officials simply mean that the future will see more attacks like the Hamas attack on Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister, however, has stated that Israeli will have, “overall security responsibility” for the Gaza Strip. In addition, he refers, vaguely I might add, that the governing of the territory will fall to, “Those who don’t want to continue the way of Hamas.” The frustration that comes with the three-area control approach in the West Bank indicates that Israel really has no idea of how to govern the Gaza Strip without Hamas. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that after Israel has achieved its vaguely defined war goal that Israelis will be safe from similar attacks like the October 7th massacre. The fear of a similar attack will hang over the country for years: Hamas might eventually be gone but the same hatred will remain. Israel moving in a different direction from more of the same might provide some hope for a better future.
Israelis have to eventually get over the vengeance they currently feel, understandably so, and think about a future that at least provides a way out from more indiscriminate violence and killing. Hopefully, the two Israeli officials expressing sentiments of getting out of the Gaza Strip after it is destroyed, will be sentiments that pass and do not represent a broad cross-section of Israelis.
In the United States Representative Rashida Tlaib (D, MI), posted a video which can only be described as maybe passionate but thoughtless. As the only Palestinian American in Congress, you think she might have taken the time to think about what she said and made an insightful statement, rather than say something that Republicans must love as she contributes to Donald Trump coming back into the White House with next year’s election. Representative Tlaib stated:
Joe Biden supported the genocide of the Palestinian people. The American people won’t forget. Biden, support a cease-fire now. Or don’t count on us in 2024.
Representative Tlaib could have made a statement, or actually a series of continuous statements, representing more than a simple emotion response. At a moment when she has the opportunity for a broad cross-section of people to begin to listen to her, if she said something with thought and substance, she, instead decided to make sure few people wanted to listen to her. Her own web site states regarding the 12th Congressional District in Michigan, her district:
Michigan’s 12th Congressional District is a beautifully diverse place where Black folks make up the largest plurality, several different ethnicities comprise its population, many languages are spoken, and much of its population is foreign-born.
The diversity of her Congressional district is represented by the diversity of the state. Michigan’s Jewish population is 0.9 percent of the state’s population, not as high as New York’s 9.1 percent but not as low as six states, including Arkansas, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and West Virginia with 0.1 percent each. It would have been a good idea for the Congresswoman to put her base emotions aside and say something that indicated she can look to the future. I suggest she spend time giving speeches at synagogues in her Congressional district and that she thinks how to encourage some change for the better. Thoughtful comments might not be well received by a Jewish audience in the United States or Israeli and Palestinian audiences, but this does not seem the time to think in terms of simply choosing a side and encouraging that side to remain adamant in its beliefs and positions. All that will do is ensure more violence to come.
Congresswoman Tlaib is in a unique position; she can remain someone who speaks with a selected audience in mind, or she can step up and provide some necessary sanity and add to bringing down some of the hatred through her position as a member of Congress but, more important, because of her Palestinian heritage.
The two Israeli officials, in apparent contradiction with the Prime Minister, as well as an American Congresswoman, by what they say now, are only guaranteeing that more of the same is yet to come. Out of the destruction, if not elimination of Hamas, a new intense hatred will emerge—which will benefit no one. Nothing I said here contradicts supporting a goal of eliminating Hamas, if that is even possible. But something broader, beyond the killing and destruction needs to emerge from this suffering. Stop the use of the term two-state solution, it is an empty statement with no substance: Begin to address a Palestine country. When Theodor Herzl began addressing the creation of an Israeli country with the Zionist Congress beginning in 1901, it had to seem like a distant fantasy. Country is the idea, two-state solution is not.
Notes
Elad Ben-Dror, “The Arab Struggle Against Partition: The International Arena of Summer 1947,” Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 43, No. 2 (March 2007): https:// www.jstor.org/stable/4284540
Rhyley Bryan, “Does the Palestinian Authority Control the West Bank?” Handlebar-online.com (January 6, 2020): https://www.handlebar-online.com/other/does-the-palestinian-authority-control-the-west-bank/
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib 12th District Strong: https:// tlaib.house.gov/resources/justice
Kayla Guo, “Rashida Tlaib Posts Video Accusing Biden of Supporting ‘Genocide’” New York Times (November 3, 2023): https:/www.nytimes.com/2023/11/03/world/middleeast/rashida-tlaib-biden-israel-palestinians.html/
Oliver Holmes and agencies, “Netanyahu says Israel will have ‘overall security responsibility’ in Gaza after war,” The Guardian (November 7, 2023): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/07/netanyahu-israel-consider-tactical-pauses-gaza?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
“Israel Plans to Sever Links with Gaza after Three-Phase War,” Caliber.az (October 21, 2023): https:// caliber.az/en/post/198192/?ysclid=lol905cold961640089
Jay Loschky, “Palestinians Lack Faith in Biden, Two-State Solution,” Gallup (October 18, 2023): https:// news.gallup.com/poll/512828/palestinians-lack-faith-biden-two-state-solution.aspx
David Pollack and Catherine Cleveland, “What Do Palestinians Want?” Washington Institute for Near East Studies July 23, 2023): https:// www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/what-do-palestinians-want
Khaled Abu Toameh and Tovah Lazaroff, “Abbas: Arabs erred in rejecting 1947 partition plan,” The Jerusalem Post (October 30, 2011): https:// www.jpost.com/middle-east/abbas-arabs-erred-in-rejecting-1947-partition-plan
“What is the Palestinian Authority and what is its relationship with Israel?” Aljazeera (October 11, 2023): https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/11/what-is-the-palestinian-authority-and-how-is-it-viewed-by-palestinians
“What were the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinians?” Aljazeera (September 13,2023): https:// www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/13/what-were-oslo-accords-israel-palestinians
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Israel, West Bank and Gaza, U.S. Department of State (no date): https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/israel-west-bank-and-gaza/west-bank-and-gaza/