For over twenty years, the two-state solution seemed to be the dominant agenda, present in every discussion on the Arab-Israeli conflict.
At the forefront of the opposition to the two-state solution stands the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
For several years, the IISS has publicized the dangers Israel would be exposed to if a two-state solution were implemented.
One of the threats which is most severe but largely ignored is the threat to national transportation infrastructure, which would be endangered by the creation of a Palestinian state next to the eastern edge of the coastal plain.
One of the roads which would be endangered by a Palestinian state is Route 6 - a north-south trans-Israel highway which crosses most of Israel.
Many sections of Route 6 nearly touch Judea and Samaria - and would nearly touch a future Palestinian state, if one were created.
In fact, even today, some sections of Route 6 are less than one kilometer (0.62 miles) away from Arab-controlled areas - and some sections are only a few dozen meters away.
It's not hard to imagine what disasters could happen - and probably will happen - if Israel gives up control of the area around Route 6. One did, shortly after the road was opened and grills had not yet been put on the large diameter sewage drains. A terrorist from a nearby Arab city hid there at night and shot at a passing Israeli car, killing a six-year-old girl.
Israel's withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 should warn everyone of what will happen along Route 6, and therefore anywhere in Israel, if the land east of the highway is controlled by Arabs.
Two sections which are especially vulnerable are those near the Arab cities of Qalqilya and Tulkarem, which are just off the road and have often been hotspots for terror attacks such as the Park Hotel massacre.
The only thing preventing such attacks from recurring is Israel's presence and control of the area.
It is impossible to dismiss the very real threats presented by terror tunnels and attacks on vehicles traveling via Route 6. And just recently terrorists were discovered attempting to dig tunnels under the border fence and security blockades.
In addition, the vast commercial and agricultural industries in the cities around Route 6 provide excellent cover and camouflage, allowing potential terrorists to freely dig enormous tunnels or prepare "shooting stations" where they can gather to shoot at those traveling on the roads.
It's also not difficult to imagine how easy it would be to prepare ambushes, and the deadly and horrific results such attacks would leave in their wake. And imagine the economic damage which such a constant threat would cause, and how Israel's north and south would be practically cut off from each other.
We'll end with one word of warning, from Professor Amnon Rubinstein, who won the Israel Prize and is an ardent leftist:
"A small and exposed Israel will not continue to exist and thrive if its major cities are shot at and terrorists attack its urban areas, vulnerable airport, and roads.... This is a very real danger which threatens Israel's existence and would occur if there were to be a third sovereign state between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River."