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There Will Be a One-State Solution

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There Will Be a One-State Solution

But What Kind of State Will It Be?

Foreign Affairs,

5 min read
3 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

The two-state solution has never been a viable option to resolve the Arab-Israeli dispute.

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Controversial
  • Visionary
  • Engaging

Recommendation

The prospects for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are receding. Yet as Palestinian rights activist Yousef Munayyer argues, decades of discussion and conflict about how to “fairly” divide Palestine into two independent states have missed the point: Arabs and Jews have always jointly occupied the territory under dispute, and the only viable way forward is to grant both groups equal citizenship rights in a single state. His eloquently crafted argument in favor of a one-state solution makes for a stimulating read, whether you are an expert on the conflict or a casual reader.

Summary

Any two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is dead from the start.

During its 2,000-year history, the land of Palestine has not been divided, excepting the period between the British withdrawal in 1948 and the Six-Day War in 1967, which ended in Israel taking control of all Palestinian territory. Today, Israel has de facto control over 13 million people, half of them Palestinian Arabs. Three million Palestinians live under military occupation in the West Bank, two million live in Israel without full citizenship rights, and another two million live under local rule effectively cut off from the rest of the world in the Gaza Strip. Today Israeli settlements accommodating over half a million people take up 60 percent of the West Bank. Within Israel, the notion that these settlements will eventually become part of the state is increasingly seen as a done deal. And there is little fear of push-back from its closest backer...

About the Author

Yousef Munayyer is a writer and scholar serving as Executive Director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights.

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