There is no possibility for a two-state solution at this point
Western politicians insist there must be a two-state solution in the Middle East but where is the Palestinian leadership?
Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Published Jan 30, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read
On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “underscored Canada’s enduring support for a two-state solution” to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. In this instance, he was on a call with the Sultan and Prime Minister of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq Al Said but it’s a statement Trudeau has made frequently, Canada supports a two-state solution.
That sentiment ignores one simple but key fact – Israel has no partner for peace on the Palestinian side.
The idea of a two-state solution, which has been supported by every Canadian government since 1948, and which is the stated policy of most of our allies, sounds like a good idea. At this point in time, it is simply not practical and won’t be until Israel has a real partner for peace.
“To tango, you need two sides,” former Knesset lawmaker Shakib Shanan told myself and the group of journalists I was travelling with through Israel last week.
We are sitting in his living room in Horfeish, a small Druze town of about 6,500 north of the West Bank and just south of the Lebanon border. Shanan is a former member of the Knesset for the Labour Party who represented this area filled with religious minorities.
“Israel does not have a partner,” he said multiple times. “Peace, you don’t do between friends, peace you do between enemies.”
Shanan, a former advisor to the government of Ehud Barak and longtime peace activist is one of many who expressed the same opinion last week, there is no possibility for a two-state solution at the moment because Israel has no partners on the Palestinian side.
That’s the main point that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was making earlier this month when he was blasted for rejecting a two-state solution.
“The Israeli state must have security control over all the territory west of the Jordan River. It’s a necessary condition, but that clashes with the principle of Palestinian sovereignty,” Netanyahu said.
Despite the outrage expressed by western democracies, he’s absolutely right. Israel being in control of the security of Gaza and the West Bank would take away sovereignty from the Palestinians, which would mean something less than full statehood but what are the alternatives?
Hamas is still currently in control of Gaza and quite frankly if elections were held in the West Bank, they would win there as well. The leadership of Hamas have been clear, they plan to attack Israel over and over again without stopping until they have what they want, which is all the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.
The Palestinian Authority, supposedly in charge of the West Bank, is often seen as a more moderate force but they aren’t exactly a partner for peace either. The PA still engages in a policy known as pay to slay.
Families of those who commit suicide attacks or who are killed while attacking Israel receive pensions paid for by the Palestinian Authority. Those who go to jail as part of the armed struggle against Israel are paid a stipend, given a military rank and promoted the longer they are in prison.
These payments are higher than the average wages earned from working in the West Bank, meaning the PA, the moderates, encourage attacks on Israel in more ways than one.
So, with those options, who will act as Israel’s partner for peace? Which of these groups will look after the functioning of the Palestinian state, providing the services the population will rely on and also provide for security to ensure there are no future attacks on Israel.
The answer is that there are none.
Until that changes, until there is leadership on the Palestinian side that does not look to eliminate Israel with violent attack after violent attack, there can be no two-state solution.
Western politicians can utter the soothing words, two-state solution all they want, unfortunately, those words are meaningless in the current context.
The Prime Minister and the Sultan discussed the situation in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. The Prime Minister underscored Canada’s enduring support for a two-state solution, reiterated his call for the immediate release of all hostages, and emphasized the right of Israelis and Palestinians to...
pm.gc.ca
For there to be an Israeli state and a Palestinian state, Israel needs a partner and right now, there isn't one.
torontosun.com