Published: 18:00, June 29, 2023 | Updated: 18:11, June 29, 2023
Two-state solution seen as key to Israel-Palestine future
By Jan Yumul in Hong Kong

Israeli soldiers walk during an army operation near the settlement of Elon Moreh in the occupied West Bank near Nablus on Apr 11, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

Differences in the narratives between the Israeli and Palestinian people, as well as a failure to explore genuine dialogue on their co-existence as part of the two-state solution, are creating obstacles in finding a peaceful future in their disputed homeland, experts said.

Finding any solution to the situation, which has been exacerbated by continued violence and military encounters, is hampered by Israel’s ethnoreligious stance and a lack of action to match official pronouncements on both sides, they added.

Palestinian presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said on June 26 that establishing an independent Palestinian state was the only solution to achieve security and stability in the Middle East

Analysts also said that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not between two equal parties, but “between an occupying party with enormous power against an occupied nation”, referring to Israel and its aggression. They also noted that Israel is often backed by its staunch ally, the United States.

Palestinian presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said on June 26 that establishing an independent Palestinian state was the only solution to achieve security and stability in the Middle East.

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His remarks were made in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments that he opposed Palestinians’ aspirations for an independent state, Xinhua News Agency reported.

According to a report by The New Arab, a London-based news website, which cited Israel’s Kan state radio station, Netanyahu said Israel has no interest in seeing the Palestinian Authority collapse but will curb any Palestinian hopes for an independent state.

Henelito Sevilla Jr, a West Asia analyst and dean of the Asian Center at the University of the Philippines, said Israel’s localized colonial policy “that encourages occupation in and annexation of the Palestinian lands” has not only created a sustained resistance among Palestinians but it also created “hardcore nationalist Israelis” who believe that they have the right to occupy Palestinian lands.

He said that the differences in narratives held by the people of both sides, alongside a lack of effort to explore genuine dialogue for peaceful co-existence, are preventing finding a solution.

Sevilla noted that failing to address the issue of occupation and settlement by allowing the Palestinian nation to finally have its homeland to live peacefully and in harmony with the Israeli people as part of the two-state solution is another critical factor.

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“On the final resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it is important that rather than managing the conflict, official pronouncements and declarations of peace from both sides must be seriously coupled with actions,” Sevilla told China Daily.

Dina Yulianti Sulaeman, director of the Indonesia Center for Middle East Studies, told China Daily that one fundamental factor that has prevented the two-state solution from happening is that Israel is ethnoreligious.

Netanyahu, when criticizing the UN resolution that used the phrase “occupation” stated that the Jewish nation is not an occupier in its own land and its own eternal capital, Jerusalem, Sulaeman said.

In other words, Israel views the West Bank as belonging to the Jewish people, she added.

“When one party insists on maintaining an irrational view like this, it is undoubtedly challenging to achieve negotiations because what one party with more power wants is a zero-sum game,” said Sulaeman.

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“With all the power it has, including the support of the US and the helplessness of the international community, Israel continues to build illegal settlements specifically for Jews in the West Bank. Thus, this is not a conflict between two equal parties but between an occupying party with enormous power against an occupied nation,” she added.

On June 28, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned Israel’s recent advancement of plans for over 5,500 housing units in settlements in the occupied West Bank, including the retroactive regularization, under Israeli law, of three settlement outposts adjacent to the settlement of Eli.

“Israel's persistent expansion of its settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, deepens humanitarian needs, significantly fuels violence, increases the risk of confrontation, further entrenches the occupation, and undermines the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination,” said Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General Farhan Haq, in a statement.

Haq said that settlements “are a flagrant violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions” and that the ongoing settlements are eroding the possibility of establishing a contiguous and viable sovereign Palestinian State, based on the pre-1967 lines, thereby impeding the ability to achieve a viable two-state solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.

READ MORE: Israeli ministers reject calls to halt settlement expansion

Ayman Yousef, a professor of international relations at the Arab American University in Jenin in the West Bank, told China Daily that he believes an alternative way to ease tensions is “more normalization, more regional integration and more regional alliances between the Gulf states and Israel”.

“We are in a state of conflict. The Israelis will go with more escalation on the ground, more military operations against the Palestinian activists, especially in the West Bank in Jenin. And the Palestinians will escalate also against settlers and Israelis stationed in West Bank,” said Yousef.


jan@chinadailyapac.com