It has long been clear that the creation of an independent Palestinian state requires a viable Palestinian economy. Yet that condition is impossible to meet amid the archipelago of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the eco-demographic strangulation of East Jerusalem, and now the destruction of Gaza.
RAMALLAH – For some people, the bloody war in Gaza may have shattered the 35-year-old consensus that the only feasible solution to the region’s troubles is to have two states, Israel and Palestine, living peaceably side by side. Yet others suggest that the horrors we have witnessed since October 7 could augur the revival of that very goal.
In recent statements, American, Palestinian, and Arab officials have all stressed that a two-state solution must emerge phoenix-like from the ashes of this war. Reasonable people everywhere can only hope that this might still provide the framework for a definitive and mutually agreed end to a century-old struggle.
The timing of this renewed interest is ironic. November is when Palestinians commemorate the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) 1988 “Declaration of Independence,” which was adopted from exile in Algeria at the height of the first intifada. All Palestinian factions – including the most radical of the period – accepted the partition of Palestine and Israel’s de facto existence within its pre-1967 borders.
RAMALLAH – For some people, the bloody war in Gaza may have shattered the 35-year-old consensus that the only feasible solution to the region’s troubles is to have two states, Israel and Palestine, living peaceably side by side. Yet others suggest that the horrors we have witnessed since October 7 could augur the revival of that very goal.
In recent statements, American, Palestinian, and Arab officials have all stressed that a two-state solution must emerge phoenix-like from the ashes of this war. Reasonable people everywhere can only hope that this might still provide the framework for a definitive and mutually agreed end to a century-old struggle.
The timing of this renewed interest is ironic. November is when Palestinians commemorate the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) 1988 “Declaration of Independence,” which was adopted from exile in Algeria at the height of the first intifada. All Palestinian factions – including the most radical of the period – accepted the partition of Palestine and Israel’s de facto existence within its pre-1967 borders.