I really, truly try to avoid sticking my nose into other countries’ political squabbles but sometimes I just can’t resist. So here it is. I won’t talk about it a lot.
I think what’s referred to as a “two-state solution” for Israel and Palestine is nonsense. IMO there is no solution to the problem between the Israelis and the Palestinians. A “one-state solution” in which Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank are all incorporated into Israel is neither just nor sustainable. Why? Simple—the number of Muslim Arabs would be greater than the number of Jewish Israelis. If the Muslim Arabs of Gaza and the West Bank get the vote, Israel would quickly cease being a Jewish homeland, liberal, or democratic. If Muslim Arabs of Gaza and the West Bank do not get the vote, Israel would cease being liberal and democratic by definition.
To understand why the “two-state solution” is nonsense just consider the situation of Gaza over the last couple of decades. There has been a de facto two-state solution in place over that period. Have the people of Gaza flourished economically, politically, or socially? No. Gaza has been an incubator for Islamist extremism. Why would a de jure two-state solution be any different? I don’t see it.
I think the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians is what’s called a “wicked problem” but it’s not our wicked problem. We need to be a little less full-throated in our support for Israel than we have been.
