Currently, the most commonly debated solution to the conflict is the "two-state solution". It is as its name implies: to establish two independent states in the land formerly known as Palestine. One Israeli state, and one Palestinian state. It's by no means a novel proposal; in fact, it has been around for years. In 1947, a UN committee proposed it in what became Resolution 181, recommending the creation of Jewish and Arab states with Jerusalem administrated by the UN. The Israelis accepted it, while the Arabs opposed it, saying they had a right to the whole of Palestine. They had a point; the number of Arabs in the land vastly outnumbered the number of Jews at the time, and they claimed that the partition plan violated the rights of the majority.
Since then, the Palestinian Liberation Organization has come to accept the possibility of the two-state solution. But certain roadblocks remain constant.
1. Pre-1967 borders
One of the Palestinian Authority's (PA) conditions for the two-state solution is that Israel goes back to its territorial lines before 1967, when Israel took control of land belonging to its Arab enemies in the Six Day War. The rest of old-day Palestine, which according to PA President Mahmoud Abbas is merely 22% of historical Palestine, would become a new Palestinian state. The Americans under the Obama administration supports this proposal, which has been met with firm opposition from the Israelis. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has continually said that Israel shall not return to its "indefensible" 1967 borders and has called for a different proposal.
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| Source: imemc.org |
2. Building of settlements in occupied Palestinian territory
Israel's occupation of Palestinian land in 1967 is to this day not recognized by the international community as justified. However, this has not stopped the Israelis in building settlements on the disputed land, especially in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Currently, almost 500000 Israelis live in these settlements alongside Palestinians. The number of settlements in the West Bank surpass 120, covering over 40% of the territory. The Palestinian Authority has called for the Israelis to stop the building of settlements if they wish to restart peace talks, which has been repeatedly ignored by the Israelis. The Americans have shown reluctance to call the settlements illegal, which, according to the PA themselves, led to the recent Palestinian request for a full-member seat at the United Nations. Israel responded to this act by announcing additional settlements.
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| Source: jerusalemshots.com |
3. Status of Jerusalem
Jerusalem is the one thing that neither side wants to give up to the other. Israel wants it as its capital city, while the Palestinians considers East Jerusalem as occupied territory and wants to make it a part of the future State of Palestine (Temple Mount would be under their jurisdiction). Most Western nations support the idea of establishing an international regime for the city, possibly under the UN. There is talk of making it an "open city", allowing anyone to visit without fear of harm. There are also those who, like the European Union and UN chief Ban Ki-Moon, support the establishment of Jerusalem as the shared capital of Israel and the State of Palestine. As such, the issue remains contentious.
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| Source: ummulhasanaat.co.za |
4. Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip
During the factional fighting between Hamas and Fatah, Hamas took over the Gaza Strip, replacing all Fatah government officials with its own. Because the Western-backed Fatah party fled, Israel and Egypt sealed their borders along Gaza, citing reasons of security. Gaza was inaccessible by land, air, and sea, with goods also restricted, leaving the people of Gaza effectively trapped. The blockade started to ease after an incident in 2010 in which an aid flotilla heading to Gaza was raided by Israeli forces, leaving nine Turkish activists dead. It garnered international outrage and led to rifts in Israeli-Turkish relations, pressuring Israel to ease the blockade. However, a strict goods blockade still remains in place, stopping humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza. British Prime Minister David Cameron referred to Gaza as a "prison camp", to which Israel responded by saying "the situation in Gaza is the direct result of Hamas' rule and priorities." This blockade has been the subject of many an argument, with Israelis who say it's for their protection, while the Palestinians and several human rights groups say it's inhumane.
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| Source: uprootedpalestinians.blogspot.com |
5. Right of return for Palestinian refugees
There are over 3.5 million Palestinian refugees in the Middle East alone, as a result of the displacement that followed the many Arab-Israeli conflicts over the years. Palestinians say they have a moral right to return to their for
mer homes, a claim that is supported by various UN resolutions. UN General Assembly Resolution 194 of 1948 states: "refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practical date." However, Israel
fears that the return of Palestinian refugees would wipe out the Jewish majority in the region, which is the only safeguard Israel has in its efforts to remain a sole Jewish state.They have called for t
he refugees to be assimilated into their present homes, a notion that has been rejected violently. A poll done by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion states 89.5% of Palestinians refuse to waive the right of return in exchange for financial compensation. In the words of one BBC article: “to accept the historic claims of the other side is implicitly to undermine your own historic claim."
These are the tremendous obstacles that diplomats have for years. Yet, everything is even more convoluted when one puts Hamas into the context. Everything from acceptance of the mere possibility of a two-state solution to handing over Jerusalem to anyone else would be blasphemy in their eyes. Their control over the Gaza Strip remains firm, and its support among Palestinians grows. Its recent deal with Israel that set free over 1000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for one Israeli prisoner saw its popularity grow by 37% (according to the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research). However, how much support Hamas has is unclear, especially in light of its rival faction Fatah's recent success in getting accepted into UNESCO. In light what we do have, however, we can be certain that Hamas still has substantial support among Palestinians.
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| Source: dulops.net |
Too much information? Indeed. This is but a mere glimmer of what diplomats must deal with. That is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - inducing headaches to diplomats worldwide since 1948.
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