Why the two -state solution remains a dead end

Almost centenary, the two -state solution is constantly returning but does not materialize. In 1937, Great Britain exercised a mandate in the territory of Palestine and already supported the creation of a “Jewish national home”. But the Arab population claims an independent state and revolts. The British authorities then recommend sharing Palestine between a Jewish state and an Arab state.

Ten years later, in 1947, the United Nations adopted a similar sharing plan, rejected by several Arab countries, which declared war in Israel from its independence. The Hebrew state pushed the Arab attacks in 1948. In 1967, at the end of the Six-Day war, Israel took control of Gaza, the West Bank, the Syrian Golan and the Egyptian Sinai, which he returned to Egypt in 1979. The occupation of these territories and the multiplication of the colonies then nourished the revolt.

The Liberation Organization of Palestine (OLP) led by Yasser Arafat, long engaged in the armed struggle, first refuses to recognize Israel. But in 1987, she resolved to defend the two -state solution in order to obtain support from the international community. In 1993, the American president, Bill Clinton, brought together the Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, and Yasser Arafat to initiate a peace process.

With these Oslo, Israel and OLP agreements recognize each other and the Palestinian authority is created in order to administer the Arab territories. “But the texts are full of ambiguities and the Oslo agreements do not explicitly mention the existence of a Palestinian State,” notes François Ceccaldi, a researcher in contemporary history of the Arab world at the Collège de France. Symbolized by an iconic handshake, they however represent the beginning of a relationship of trust.

Assassination and attacks

But hope is quickly broken by fanaticism. In 1995, a young Israeli ultra -nationalist murdered Yitzhak Rabin, while Hamas multiplied the attacks. The second intifada is triggered. Israeli public opinion hardens and the nationalist party of Likoud settles in power permanently. Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip but pursues an active policy of colonization in the West Bank.

Today, Israeli settlers no longer represent a minority of religious ultra -nationalists. Estimated at 700,000, they make the prospect of a two -state solution illustory. Faced with the impasse, several voices today call for the creation of a binational state. Israelis and Palestinians would therefore coexist in one and the same country. But does the project not fall under utopia?