Israel And The Palestinians Prospects For A Two State Solution

Contents: (1) The Two-State Debate in Context; (2) Recent Developments: Obama¿s Cairo Speech and Subsequent Diplomacy; Netanyahu¿s Speech and the PLO Reaction; Fayyad¿s Plan ¿ A De Facto Palestinian State; Hamas¿s Political Positioning; Evaluating Previous Negotiations: Signs of Progress or of Setbacks?; (3) Going Forward; (4) Changes Since Oslo: Middle East Geopolitics; Violence and Palestinian Factionalism; The Rise of Hamas and Divided Palestinian Rule; (5) Different Pathways to a Two-State Solution; Palestinian Statehood Before a Final-Status Agreement?: De Facto State; Main Unanswered Question: Jerusalem; (6) Alternatives to a Two-State Solution; (7) U.S. Policy: Debate Over the U.S. Approach.

Diplomats, politicians and activists alike have long laboured under the assumption that a two-state solution is the only path to peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. But as this conflict continues unabated, and violence and instability deepen, it seems that the ideal of two states coexisting alongside each other and the ever-elusive goal of peace slip further from reach. The Failure of the Two-State Solution examines the impasse in the Israel-Palestine conflict, exploring the reasons behind the breakdown of attempts to establish a meaningful Palestinian state. This book therefore points to another - until recently unthinkable - option: a single bi-national state in Israel-Palestine, with all inhabitants sharing in equal rights and citizenship, regardless of ethnicity or faith. Hani A. Faris has drawn together a wide-ranging and in-depth analysis of the historical and current situation in Israel-Palestine. By analysing the history of the conflict in Israel-Palestine and its numerous peace initiatives, this book demonstrates how the current deadlock has been reached. With a nascent Palestinian state hampered by Israeli security policy and internal political divisions and the continuing expansion of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, it is argued here that the viability of the two-state solution seems to have run its course. And so highlights the one-state solution as an option, and debates and develops the organisational steps and strategies, on a local and international level, that would enable the construction of a bi-national state. With scholars from the US, Europe, the Arab world and Israel analysing the possibility of a one-state solution and the shortcomings of the two-state track, this is an important and ground-breaking book for students of Politics, International Relations, Peace Studies and Middle East Studies and all interested in the resolution of this seemingly intractable conflict.

One year after the formal renewal of direct talks at the Nov 2007 Annapolis Conference, Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) have been unable to come to terms on a final-status peace agreement, despite possible signs of progress. Differences between the two sides continue over core issues such as borders, security, settlements, the status of Jerusalem, refugees, and water rights, despite their mutual acceptance of the concept of a negotiated "two-state solution" that would establish a Palestinian state alongside Israel in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip pursuant to the principle of "land for peace." Previously when talks have faltered, the parties eventually returned to the negotiating table. Yet, there are a growing number of key actors and observers expressing doubts that the very concept of a negotiated two-state solution can survive a process in which talks are put on hold and resumed an indefinite number of times without finality. Some observers dismiss these doubts as mere tactics meant to prod either or both parties to action. Prospects for a two-state solution appear more tenuous given uncertainties that a consensus supporting the peace process will hold in the face of upcoming leadership transitions in the United States and Israel and conflicting claims to Palestinian leadership. In addition to wavering confidence in the peace process, changes with respect to geopolitics, demographics, violence between Israelis and Palestinians, factionalism among Palestinians, Israeli settlements, and other impediments to Palestinian movement and territorial contiguity may have significantly altered the likelihood of reaching a two-state solution since the signing of the Oslo Accord in 1993. Decreased hope in the viability of a two-state solution has led some Israelis and Palestinians to consider alternative solutions that appear to be contrary to U.S. policy: a one-state solution, a Jordanian or regional option, or other, unilaterally-imposed outcomes.

Israel in the Post Oslo Era examines the official Israeli stands and policies towards the Palestinian problem from the beginning of the twenty-first century. The book argues that Israel is gradually withdrawing from the commitment of a two-state solution and from the general framework of the peace process that started in 1993 with the signing of the Oslo accord. The main factor behind Israel’s shift regarding the conflict and its resolution is related to the steady and gradual rise of the Israeli right since the 2009 general elections, to reach the "dominant block" status. These fundamental changes are the result of profound social transformations, such as the functional significance of marginal groups. The unprecedented growth of the right disputes basic questions, addressed in this book, including the official Israeli approach towards the Palestinian problem in general, particularly the two-state solution. The book examines these developments and the overall Israeli withdrawal from the peace process and its commitment to a two-sate solution. Israel in the Post Oslo Era is an invaluable resource for students and researchers interested in Arab-Israeli conflict resolutions, Middle East and Israeli Politics.

"Examines the impasse in the Israel-Palestine conflict and the reasons for the breakdown of attempts to establish a meaningful Palestinian state. Explores the organizational steps, on local and international levels, that would enable the construction of a bi-national state."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

The future of the West Bank and Gaza remains the single most crucial issue in the search for peace in the Middle East. Heller outlines the conditions under which he believes the establishment of a Palestinian state could be the optimal solution. He also discusses the economic prospects of a Palestinian state and the future of Jerusalem.

One Land, Two States imagines a new vision for Israel and Palestine in a situation where the peace process has failed to deliver an end of conflict. “If the land cannot be shared by geographical division, and if a one-state solution remains unacceptable,” the book asks, “can the land be shared in some other way?” Leading Palestinian and Israeli experts along with international diplomats and scholars answer this timely question by examining a scenario with two parallel state structures, both covering the whole territory between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River, allowing for shared rather than competing claims of sovereignty. Such a political architecture would radically transform the nature and stakes of the Israel-Palestine conflict, open up for Israelis to remain in the West Bank and maintain their security position, enable Palestinians to settle in all of historic Palestine, and transform Jerusalem into a capital for both of full equality and independence—all without disturbing the demographic balance of each state. Exploring themes of security, resistance, diaspora, globalism, and religion, as well as forms of political and economic power that are not dependent on claims of exclusive territorial sovereignty, this pioneering book offers new ideas for the resolution of conflicts worldwide.

Written by a Palestinian with intimate knowledge of the political and physical landscape of the region, at its basic level the book advocates for a just peace based on the human rights and international law, a peace which all parties to the century-old conflict need. In this history of Palestine, the author shows that both sides of the conflict as well as the international community share the blame for the failure to bring the issue to a just conclusion. Most of the responsibility, he says, lies at the door of the Palestinian leaders themselves, who seem to suffer from institutionalized incompetence in dealing with the Israelis; and the Israelis are to be blamed for their refusal to transform their colonial enterprise into reconciliation politics by acknowledging the claims of the indigenous Palestinian people. At the same time, there is every sign that this impasse was deliberately created at the outset by the international community, led by Great Britain, in the endless game of "divide and rule." Unlike many optimistic writers who expect US President Barack Obama and his administration to find a just solution to the conflict, the author concludes that the Obama Administration would have to reverse the traditional US policy in the Middle East entirely if it is to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Delving into the historical background behind all the parties to the issue, the book provides much-needed background for understanding news events today and basic information that even human rights activists and peace organizations may not have fully appreciated. Throughout, the author seeks to transcend his ethnicity and deal fairly with the positions of people holding different worldviews.