Is a one-state solution to Israeli-Palestinian coexistence a possible way forward out of the conflict over the contested land?
Introduction
The essay will review literature on the possibility of Israeli/Palestinian coexistence to see whether this could happen and if so how it could happen.
The Israeli/Palestinian conflict is one of the longest running conflicts in the world. Over the past two decades the two sides have been negotiating with other based on the two states for two peoples solution. In the opinion of many this option is no longer viable, therefore new options need to be explored.
Literature Review
This review will analyse three essays, two of the essays look at the Israeli/Palestinian conflict from the Palestinian perspective while addressing two different areas. Leila Farsakh addresses “how the One State Solution can become a clear political movement for the Palestinian people, one which can enable them to achieve their rights that the two-state solution failed to protect” (Farsakh, 56). While the second essay by Camille Mansour discusses the failures of the Palestinian negotiating paradigm over the past 20 years and provides direction for Palestinian leaders for future negotiations. The third essay by Nathan Witkin discusses the case for a completely new paradigm to resolve the conflict by using the one state, two peoples, two governments idea called the Interspersed Nation-State.
Camille Monsour’s essay doesn’t deal with the one-state solution but highlights the reasons why many now believe a one-state solution is the answer. Monsour argues that over the past 20 years since the Oslo Accords were signed, that Palestinian leaders have failed in the way and the manner in which they negotiated with Israel. She outline...
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...hat the supporters of a one-state solution have a very difficult job to do in persuading Palestinians and especially Israelis that it is a viable option. The one-state solution is a possible, however this could only happen following a period of peace between the two sides. At present the level of mistrust and in-balance of power between the two sides makes it difficult to foresee such a solution being implemented or taken seriously.
Works Cited
Witkin, N. (2011) ‘The Interspersed Nation-State system: A Two-state/One Land Solution for the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Middle East Journal 65:1
Farsakh, L (2011) ‘The One state Solution and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Palestinian Challenges and Prospects’, Middle East Journal 65:1
Mansour, C. (2011) ‘Toward a new Palestinian Negotiation Paradigm’, Journal of Palestine Studies, XI:3, 38-58
The two views of these to two men, David and Daud expressed different beliefs. One (David), is a Jewish Israeli. The other man, Daud, is a very upset Palestinian Arab. Throughout the discussion they both are bringing up each of the countries faults and seeing if any of these points can maybe be resolved. It seems however as though, for right now they failed. I personally have to side with the Israeli man David. His point is very clear for me to see and it seems that all the Jewish people are there to help each other and to have their own place to call home.
...r remains faithful to the memory of his peaceful childhood when Jews and Palestinians lived together in peace, and the prospect of a better future. Despite the political wrongs his people have suffered, he is proud of his heritage and intends to “restore race relations between Jews and Palestinians, (by restoring) human dignity” (146). To do this, Chocour implements innovative techniques: he has Palestinians visit the Kibbutzim, and has Jews spend time with Palestinian families. Chocour’s message is quite honorable, “to change hearts not institutions” (222). Chocour remembers that “Jews and Palestinians are brothers, the(y) have the same father, Abraham, and believe in the same God” (34). It is sad that peoples in this region need to be remnded that they are brothers, but it is comforting that there are men like Chocour, who valiantly assume this task as their own.
Bob Hawke once said; “Unless and until something concrete is done about addressing the Israeli-Palestinian issue you won't get a real start on the war against terrorism.” Perhaps Hawke put into a few simple words one of the most complicated issues within our world today, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As Israel continues to strip the Palestinians of their land and fears it’s very existence because of the Palestinians terrorist acts, there seems to be no solution in sight. The world appears to be split and all over the place when it comes to this matter. According to The Middle East Institute for Understanding approximately 129 countries recognize Palestine as a state while many others do not. Over all the political matters within this issue not only affect Palestine and Israel but the world as a whole, as the Middle East and the West seem to disagree. This has had and will continue to have an enormous impact on many political affairs all over the world particularly in the current fight against terrorism. Personally I feel that the Israeli Palestinian conflict while being a very complicated matter has a simple solution. Within this issue I am a firm believer that the occupation of the West Bank by Israeli forces is extremely unjust and must come to an end. Once this is achieved a two state solution will be the most effective way to bring peace to the area. The occupation of the West Bank violates political and legal rights, human rights, and illegally forces Palestinians who have lived in the area for hundreds of years from their land. This conflict is at the height of its importance and a solution is of dire need as nuclear issues arise in the Middle East due to the tension between Israel and it’s surrounding neighbors, and the...
Netanyahu, B. (2002). A Durable Peace: Israel and its Place Among the Nations. New York, NY: Grand Central Publishing.
Most of the criticism of the failure on Camp David 2000 Summit was pressed at the Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. In Dennis Ross’s The Missing Peace: The Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace, Dennis Ross states that Yasser Arafat came into the Camp David negotiations with an all or nothing mindset, such that “if the demands were not Arafat’s, he would not accept it”. It states that he would have nothing of it, if it was not what he wanted. In this book Dennis Ross stated that Yasser Arafat wanted a “one-state solution” instead of adjacent Israeli and Palestinian states, but a single Arab state encompassing all of Historic Palestine. Arafat’s unwillingness to accept any offers that wasn’t what he wanted lead to the failure of the Camp David 2000 Summit.
Israel has been dealing with Palestinian pressures to give back the land that they consider “theirs” and other leaders have had different views on how to handle aggression from the Palestinians. Ehud Olmert’s views included handling the conflict with peace and not using violence. He suggested to Mohamed Abbas a convergence plan which centered around the idea that the Israeli people would be forced out of the West Bank which is an are... ... middle of paper ... ... m. A part of the problem today in this conflict is the people not willing to change or go along with what their leaders enforce and their ideas.
The Middle East has since time immemorial been on the global scope because of its explosive disposition. The Arab Israeli conflict has not been an exception as it has stood out to be one of the major endless conflicts not only in the region but also in the world. Its impact continues to be felt all over the world while a satisfying solution still remains intangible. A lot has also been said and written on the conflict, both factual and fallacious with some allegations being obviously evocative. All these allegations offer an array of disparate views on the conflict. This essay presents an overview of some of the major literature on the controversial conflict by offering precise and clear insights into the cause, nature, evolution and future of the Israel Arab conflict.
Since the inception of an Israeli nation-state in 1948, violence and conflict has played a major role in Israel’s brief history. In the Sixty-One year’s Israel has been a recognized nation-state, they have fought in 6 interstate wars, 2 civil wars, and over 144 dyadic militarized interstate disputes (MIDs) with some display of military force against other states (Maoz 5). Israel has been involved in constant conflict throughout the past half century. Israel’s tension against other states within the Middle East has spurred vast economic, social, and political unity that has fostered a sense of nationalism and unity in Israel not seen in most other states. Over the next several pages I will try and dissect the reasons for why the nation state of Israel has been emerged in constant conflict and how this conflict has helped foster national unity and identity among the people of Israel.
“There is no such thing as a Palestinian.” Stated former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir after three fourths of one million Palestinians had been made refugees, over five hundred towns and cities had been obliterated, and a new regional map was drawn. Every vestige of the Palestinian culture was to be erased. Resolution 181, adopted in 1947 by the United Nations declared the end of British rule over Palestine (the region between the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River) and it divided the area into two parts; a state for the Jewish and one for the Arab people, Palestine. While Israel was given statehood, Palestine was not. Since 1947, one of the most controversial issues in the Middle East, and of course the world, is the question of a Palestinian state. Because of what seems a simple question, there have been regional wars among Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq, terrorist attacks that happen, sometimes daily, displacement of families from their homes, and growing numbers of people living in poverty. Granting Palestinian statehood would significantly reduce, or alleviate, tensions in the Middle East by defining, once and for all, the area that should be Palestine and eliminating the bloodshed and battles that has been going on for many years over this land.
The Israeli-Palestine conflict is an event that has been well documented throughout the course of Middle-Eastern history. The conflict dates back as far as the nineteenth century where Palestine and Zionist, will later be known as Israel, are two communities each with different ideologies had the same overwhelming desire to acquire land. However, what makes this clash what it is, is the fact that both of these up and coming communities are after the same piece of land. The lengths that both sides went to in order obtain they believed was theirs has shaped the current relationship between the two nations today.
A possible solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the two-state solution. The two-state solution would become a peace agreement in which establishes a Palestinian state alongside the current state of Israel (Bourke). In the opinion of the Maghar Druze’s community, peace is the main objective in which the two-state solution could provide. As follows, most Israeli Druze’s would encourage the current peace talks in aim of a two-state agreement. Despite the fact that the two-state solution requires compromise in which it is believed the Palestinian are not able to accommodate. In particular, the Maghar Druze’s do not believe the Palestinians will ever be satisfied with a two-state agreement because of the need for retaliation fo...
Conflicts between people often have multiple causes and effects. A majority of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an argument that dates back to Biblical times. The Jewish argue Palestine was the historical site of all Jewish kingdoms, which was promised to Abraham and his descendants. The Arabs argue that Ishmael, forefather of Arabs, is the son of Abraham so God’s promise that the land should go to Abraham’s descendents includes Arabs as well . Some of the main causes which worsen the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are the disparity between Sykes-Picot agreement and Balfour Declaration, The United Nation Partition plan of 1947, which was the separation of the boundaries, and Hitler’s Final Solution. While these causes affected both sides
...Of course anything can be talked through and peacefully worked out, but will it? Unless serious changes take place (politically, environmentally, etc.), the conflicts will continue to grow.
Ben-Gurion, David. “Status-Quo Agreement.” In Israel in the Middle East: Second Edition, edited by Itamar Rabinovich and Jehude Reinharz, 58-59. Waltham: Brandeis University Press, 2008.
For many centuries, Judaic and Arabian societies have engaged in one of the most complicated and lengthy conflicts known to mankind, the makings of a highly difficult peace process. Unfortunately for all the world’s peacemakers the Arab-Israeli conflict, particularly the war between Israel and the Palestinian Territories, is rooted in far more then ethnic tensions. Instead of drawing attention towards high-ranking officials of the Israeli government and Hamas, focus needs to be diverted towards the more suspect and subtle international relations theory of realism which, has imposed more problems than solutions.