Due Diligence: Questions for the One-Staters

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ziad-j-asali-md/one-state-solution-israel_b_1638550.html

Ziad J. Asali, M.D.

President, American Task Force on Palestine

The supporters of the two-state solution are often told that this vision is unrealistic and has become unachievable. Young, idealistic seekers of justice and equality are increasingly offering what they claim is a more "realistic" solution: a single state for all Israelis and Palestinians, including refugees.

Because I am deeply aware of the difficulties of achieving a lasting solution through two states living side-by-side in peace, I am always eager to examine other options. In sincerely evaluating the one state idea, I first reviewed how the two-state concept emerged, assessed the fundamental realities of the status quo, and posited the series of questions about how a single state could be achieved.

Beginning with its inception in 1965, the Palestine Liberation Organization pursued a single state solution. It only accepted Israel and the two-state solution in 1988 after armed resistance not only failed to achieve a state, but precipitated a series of calamities for Palestinians.

The two-state solution also became the official policy of the United States -- and the world as represented by the Middle East Quartet -- under the George W. Bush administration in 2002. It was buttressed by the Arab Peace Initiative and, in 2009, was even accepted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It is the consensus of international policy, but is also stymied and forestalled by international politics, and is losing support and confidence because of the failure of the negotiating process and expanding settlement construction.

Whether pursuing two states or a single state, everyone needs to begin by honestly assessing the status quo as defined by the following salient facts:

- Israel occupies the Palestinians and their land conquered in 1967.

- Soon the number of Jews and Arabs in territories of mandatory Palestine, between the sea and the river, will be equal.

- The de facto state of Israel already constitutes a one-state reality, but the conflict is not ended.
- Jordan is already another unified, single state that is organically tied to the conflict.

- Both negotiations and "armed resistance" have failed to produce a solution.

- Demographics, and land occupancy, are inexorably changing, according to their own logic and pace.

Among Palestinians, the one-state idea is embraced mainly by those most opposed to Israel, Zionism, normalization, negotiations, cultural exchange and trade, and who support boycott, divesture and sanctions.

To take the one-state option seriously, due diligence regarding its feasibility is required. This simply means asking how it can be achieved through the following questions:

1) What is the mechanism for negotiating, implementing or imposing such a solution? ....READ MORE