Editor’s note: This column is part two in a two-part series.
The two-state solution for the conflict between Israel and Palestine is only one of many proposals to bring peace to this conflicted region.
This solution would establish two separate states, the state of Israel and the state of Palestine, both having separate governments and peaceful relations with the other.
To move this peace agreement along, President Obama has appointed former Senator George Mitchell as special U.S. envoy to the Middle East.
Mitchell has been working with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who can be considered a hard liner and unwilling to go along with any two-state solution.
The U.S. favored peace agreement would establish the state of Palestine, consisting of Gaza, which is already under Palestinian authority and the withdrawal of Israel from the West Bank. Israel is very reluctant to withdraw from the West Bank.
There are a considerable number of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem, not just homes, but roads, military bases and other structures. The West Bank is broken up into checkpoints, which does not allow a Palestinian coalition to form.
The United Nations Office for Coordinated Humanitarian Affairs reports, in east Jerusalem, about 60,000 Palestinians are currently at risk of having their homes demolished because of the current housing settlement planned by Israel.
Why is Israel not willing to settle for this solution? To obtain this goal, Israel would have to withdraw from the West Bank and give control to the Palestinian authority. Would Israel allow a true Palestinian authority to establish power?
So far, this may seem like a reasonable plan, but there are two sticking points. The first is the Israeli settlements already in the West Bank. If Israel withdraws from the West Bank, does this mean the Israeli citizens would be permitted to stay? Or would the Palestinians proceed to displace Israeli families that are settled in the West Bank?
The second is the threat of Hamas. Hamas can be considered a terrorist group because of the suicide bombings and attacks using mortars and short-range rockets in Gaza and the West Bank.
Hamas also refuses to recognize that Israel exists. In 2005, President Bush called Hamas a terrorist organization and called for them to end their violence against Israel and take part in the democratic elections in Palestine.
In 2006, Hamas won legislative elections in the Palestinian Authority defeating Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ political party to gain control. Hamas is now a part of the government in Palestine.
The two-state solution is not perfect. Israel would have to withdraw from the West Bank, putting their citizens at risk.
Hamas, a group that seeks to destroy Israel, would be in control of the government. Israel has a vested interest in the infrastructure of the West Bank.
There is no perfect resolution to this serious conflict. With the threat of Iran in the distance, a new peace plan needs to be discussed.
Cratic is a senior studying
political science.
