The Two State Solution

This timely work, contributed by noted authorities, explains the crucial events in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that led to the UN resolution to partition Palestine into two states on November 29, 1947. The book first analyzes the historical context of UN resolution 181, including the positions and internal debates of the Jewish and Arab parties and of the international community. It then introduces primary sources related to the resolution, such as protocols, letters, reports, and speeches, some of these published for the first time in English. By combining in-depth analyses with such sources, the book provides a rich and comprehensive overview of the subject from a variety of perspectives. It shows that the arguments for a two-state solution, i.e., a Jewish state along a Palestinian state, are as relevant today as they were then. Featuring both Israeli and Palestinian points of view, this significant work renews the debate that has shaped --and is still shaping-- the Arab-Israeli conflict. It will be an essential resource for anyone interested in the past and future of Israel and Palestine.

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.

Beyond The Two-State Solution, by Jonathan Kuttab, is a short introduction to the current crisis in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Zionism and Palestinian Nationalism have been at loggerheads for over a century. Some thought the two-state solution would resolve the conflict between them. Jonathan explains that the two-state solution (that he supported) is no longer viable. He suggests that any solution be predicated on the basic existential needs of the two parties, needs he lays out in exceptional detail. He formulates a way forward for a 1-state solution that challenges both Zionism and Palestinian Nationalism. This book invites readers to begin a new conversation based on reality: two peoples will need to live together in some sort of unified state. It is balanced and accessible to neophytes and to experts alike.

Where Now for Palestine? marks a turning point for the Middle East. Since 2000, the attacks of 9/11, the death of Arafat and the elections of Hamas and Kadima have meant that the Israel/Palestine 'two-state solution' now seems illusory. This collection critically revisits the concept of the 'two-state solution' and maps the effects of local and global political changes on both Palestinian people and politics. The authors discuss the changing face of Fateh, Israeli perceptions of Palestine, and the influence of the Palestinian diaspora. The book also analyzes the environmental destruction of Gaza and the West bank, the economic viability of a Palestinian state and the impact of US foreign policy in the region. This authoritative and up-to-date guide to the impasse facing the region is required reading for anyone wishing to understand a conflict entrenched at the heart of global politics.

Padraig O'Malley is the subject of the new acclaimed documentary The Peacemaker “A thoughtful autopsy of the failed two-state paradigm . . . Evenhanded, diplomatic, mutually respectful, and enormously useful.” —Kirkus, starred review Disputes over settlements, the right of return, the rise of Hamas, recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, and other intractable issues have repeatedly derailed peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine. Now, in a book that is sure to spark controversy, renowned peacemaker Padraig O’Malley argues that the moment for a two-state solution has passed. After examining each issue and speaking with Palestinians and Israelis as well as negotiators directly involved in past summits, O’Malley concludes that even if such an agreement could be reached, it would be nearly impossible to implement given the staggering costs, Palestine’s political disunity and the viability of its economy, rapidly changing demographics, Israel’s continuing political shift to the right, global warming’s effect on the water supply, and more. In this revelatory, hard-hitting book, O’Malley approaches the key issues pragmatically, without ideological bias, to show that we must find new frameworks for reconciliation if there is to be lasting peace between Palestine and Israel.

“What is so striking about Morris’s work as a historian is that it does not flatter anyone’s prejudices, least of all his own,” David Remnick remarked in a New Yorker article that coincided with the publication of Benny Morris’s 1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War. With the same commitment to objectivity that has consistently characterized his approach, Morris now turns his attention to the present-day legacy of the events of 1948 and the concrete options for the future of Palestine and Israel. The book scrutinizes the history of the goals of the Palestinian national movement and the Zionist movement, then considers the various one- and two-state proposals made by different streams within the two movements. It also looks at the willingness or unwillingness of each movement to find an accommodation based on compromise. Morris assesses the viability and practicality of proposed solutions in the light of complicated and acrimonious realities. Throughout his groundbreaking career, Morris has reshaped understanding of the Israeli-Arab conflict. Here, once again, he arrives at a new way of thinking about the discord, injecting a ray of hope in a region where it is most sorely needed.

"A clear, trenchant book on a topic of enormous importance . . . a courageous plunge into boiling waters. If The One-State Solution helps propel forward a debate that has hardly begun in this country it will have performed a signal scholarly and political function." ---Tony Judt, New York University ". . . a pioneering text. . . . [A]s such it will take pride of place in a brewing debate." ---Gary Sussman, Tel Aviv University "The words ‘The One-State Solution' seem to strike dread, at the least, or terror, at the most, in any established, institutional, or mainstream discourse having to do with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. . . . It therefore takes great courage---and I use the word literally---to title explicitly a book under that infamous label. . . . Virginia Tilley is blessed with such courage and complements it with the requisite academic erudition. . . . Weaving her way through the historical progression of Zionism and through late 20th century and current international and Middle Eastern politics, she shows how the additional, pernicious state of settlement expansion (abetted by other massive human rights violations that go with the occupation) has brought us to the point where only a one-state solution can provide a just peace (and not just a state of conflict management going under the misnomer of peace)." --- Anat Biletsky, Middle East Journal Recent events have once more put the Israeli-Palestinian issue on the front page. After decades of failed peace initiatives, the prospect of reconciliation is in the air yet again as the principal actors maneuver to end the conflict and---the world hopes---bring peace to the region. A one-state solution is a way toward that peace and needs serious, renewed consideration. The One-State Solution explains how Israeli settlements have encroached on the occupied territory of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to such an extent that any Palestinian state in those areas is unworkable. And it reveals the irreversible impact of Israel's settlement grid by summarizing its physical, demographic, financial, and political dimensions. Virginia Tilley elucidates why we should assume that this grid will not be withdrawn---or its expansion reversed---by reviewing the role of the key political actors: the Israeli government, the United States, the Arab states, and the European Union. Finally, Tilley focuses on the daunting obstacles to a one-state solution---including major revision of the Zionist dream but also Palestinian and other regional resistance---and offers some ideas about how those obstacles might be addressed. Virginia Tilley is Chief Research Specialist in the Democracy and Governance Division of the Human Resources Council in Cape Town, South Africa.

"A Crown Center for Middle East Studies Book."