Perspective 77. The Two-State Solution: Out of Reach?

President Biden, while in the Middle East, reaffirmed his support for two states -- Israel and Palestine -- as a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. But many knowledgeable experts have concluded that this is no longer an option. Has the two-state solution, in fact, passed its expiration date?

No. The critics are correct that the odds against establishing an Arab Palestinian state alongside Israel are formidable. But it is less unlikely than the other frameworks that have been bandied about from time to time.

In perspective, the idea of giving each side the right of self-determination in its own sovereign space has for good reason dominated discussion of solutions since the first partition plan proposed by the British Peel Commission in 1937. Neither side will willingly accept a long-term status as a permanent minority in an undivided Palestine dominated by the other; this is simply a recipe for continued conflict.

So how about an undivided Palestine in which neither side dominated the other, a "binational" state in which power is shared? The vision of such an idyllic state is irreproachable, if one simply assumes total cooperation as a point of departure. But when two parties can't agree on terms of separation, what are the chances of agreement on the minute details of intimate coexistence?

The abysmal track record of binationalism, or its equivalent, is apparent in the histories of Cyprus, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Bosnia, Kosovo, Rwanda, and elsewhere.

Creative minds have devised a number of other elaborate proposals for coexistence without partition. Among these are confederation, "parallel states," "two states in one place," "one country, two states," and "interspersed nation-state." But again, these schemes all require a much higher degree of cooperation than would be involved in allowing each side to go its separate way.

Separation does involve the initial difficulty of drawing a line, and to be sure this is very problematic with close to half a million Jewish settlers in the West Bank. But that does not mean that any other resolution would be easier.

The alternative may be, as the critics point out, that there will be no resolution. A substantial part of the Israeli public, in fact, favors continuation of the status quo as the preferred solution. But in the long run the status quo is not a solution; it is simply postponement of the inevitable.