The dream of a two-state solution is dead. The two-state solution itself has, of course, always been dead. It was never viable or rational from its inception. But Oslo leaders and activists clung to it like a security blanket, convinced that it would make everything all right. Offering just as much protection as the proverbial blanket, the persistence of pushing a two-state solution was a testament to the power of self-delusion.
But after everything that’s happened, self-disillusion is impossible. It’s impossible to believe in the possibility of the two-state solution. At least there’s still Bigfoot.
Still, if the myth of a two-state solution has been widely revealed to be a fantasy, unfortunately, many political leaders still prefer make-believe to reality. Thus, we still have heads of state who call for Israel to be divided into two states, one for the Jews and one for the Arabs.
Like all fantasies, this one falls apart the moment you start to pick at it. The biggest thread to pull at is a question no one seems to be able to answer. If the Palestinian Arabs are given a state, who’s going to run it?
Hamas has been all but decimated. Even if Israel gave in to a suicidal peace deal and agreed to let Hamas stay in power, they’re too broken to govern effectively. They’ve lost the support of the people and, at this point, are ruling through fear and intimidation. If left in charge, they would become constant targets for any one of new terror movements that would spring up and try to seize control. What would follow would be civil war, and whoever emerged victorious, the winners would be far too weak to withstand any new challenges. So, Hamas is out as a candidate for leadership.
If Israel sticks to its principles, which I pray it will, and completely destroys Hamas, but then leaves Gaza, it creates a new challenge. A power vacuum will immediately be created. Any number of Muslim terror organizations are already poised to seize control. Instead of dealing with Hamas, within a short time, Israel would find that they now have to fight ISIS, Islamic Jihad, the Muslim Brotherhood, or even a new organization formed just for that purpose. So, creating a power vacuum is also not a viable option.
The UN, which never came across a terrible idea it didn’t embrace, thinks that it’s found the solution. They suggest a plan involving an “interim government” of four Arab states that would govern Gaza for an unspecified period of time. The United Arab Emirates and Egypt would be among the likely countries that oversee the administration of the Strip.
If implemented, this plan would be the ultimate irony. For decades, Palestinian Arbs have claimed to be under Israeli occupation (despite the fact that Israel completely withdrew from Gaza). Now they would actually be submitting to foreign control. Gaza would become a vassal to the larger Arab powers, with its citizens effectively stripped of their rights and their autonomy. It would be a remarkably hypocritical move on the part of the UN, which after falsely accusing Israel of colonialism, would in fact be creating a colonial enterprise. How protesters and radicals on college campuses would rationalize this is anyone’s guess.
The Palestinian Authority presents itself as the natural successor to Hamas. They would relish the opportunity to retake control of Gaza and undue the humiliation and violence they suffered when Gazans voted out the PA and voted Hamas into power. Taking back control would be a power move for the PA, which in recent years has largely faded into political irrelevance.
This is, of course, the same Palestinian Authority founded by the genocidal murderer Yasser Arafat and currently run by a Holocaust denying, Jew hating dictator who refuses to hold free elections. The PA is still devoted to its mission to destroy the state of Israel and to drive its Jews into the sea. While it has in recent years attempted to brand itself as a legitimate political organization, its barbaric polices, such as its “pay for slay” program undermine any suggestion that it’s gone straight.
It’s hard to believe that Israel would allow such a murderous regime to take power. It’s also hard to think that world leaders would throw their support behind such a weak opponent, one that is more and more seen as largely irrelevant by most Palestinian Arabs.
The bleeding hearts, among them many Jews, suggest that the Palestinian Arabs themselves should take over. They point to events several months ago, when the media was flooded with images of Gaza civilians taking to the streets in mass protest against Hamas. Chants of “down with Hamas” and “Hamas out” were televised around the world as evidence that the citizens of Gaza were as tired of Hamas, and as victimized, as the Israelis were. The marches, which at times resulted in protestors being murdered by Hamas, were presented as evidence that the average Gazan didn’t support Hamas’s aims and that peace was therefore still possible.
Putting aside the fact that these same protestors overwhelmingly supported Hamas just a few months before that, joined the massacre gleefully on October 7, 2023, and that they only changed their tune when Hamas turned against its own people, as inspiring as their protests are, what they don’t say is just as telling.
The protests are always “down with Hamas”. Never do the protestors call for support for Israel, for an end to killing Jews, and most importantly, never do they call for peace. Gazans did not turn against Hamas because they are against the destruction of the Jewish people. They turned against Hamas because they feel that Hamas failed in that goal. What they are calling for is a new leadership that will be more effective in finishing the job.
The West still holds to the egregious belief that, given the chance, Palestinian Arabs would create a Western-style democracy. The idea of Palestinian Arab self-rule also shows the West’s profound lack of understanding of how Palestinian Arabs govern themselves.
Palestinian Arab society in Judea, Samaria and Gaza is structured around three main types of clan-like familial structures: tribes, clans, and notable families. Tribes are generally understood to be descended from nomadic and semi-nomadic Bedouin populations. There are five major tribes in Gaza, Jahalin, al-Kaabneh, al-Azazmeh, al-Ramadin, and al-Rshaida. A relatively small percentage of Palestinian Arabs, particularly in the Gaza Strip, are of tribal origin. Clans are groups claiming common ancestry through the male line, often sharing the same family name. They represent a significant force in Palestinian Arab society, influencing social interactions, dispute resolution, and even politics. These clans gain their power by managing businesses and possess the loyalty of hundreds, if not thousands, of relatives. Finally, there are powerful families with a history of influence and leadership within Palestinian Arab society, often holding positions of influence or prestige.
As is the case in most of Arab history, these various factions are constantly at war with one another. Grudges dating back centuries lead to violence that has continued down into the present. To this day, various clans are at war with each other, regularly carrying out deadly attacks. Important families are not above murder and violence to gain or maintain control. Like medieval feudal lords, Palestinian Arabs, when left to their own devices, are trapped in an endless cycle of brutality and revenge. It would take decades to untangle the various roots of each individual conflict, and even if it were possible, new feuds are started regularly based on an archaic concept of offended honor.
A Gaza run by Palestinian Arabs would quickly devolve into a primitive land of rival chieftains constantly waging war and murdering each other. We already see this in the frequency of Arab-on-Arab violence and honor killings in Gaza and Judea and Samaria. Such an option does not bode well for long-term peace in the region.
Finally, let it not be forgotten that the citizens of Gaza, the Palestinian Arab "civilians", were the very people who joined Hamas in perpetrating the October 7th massacre. They are the same people who took innocent Israelis hostage, including women, children, and the elderly, and then refused to help the hostages once in captivity. Released hostage Mia Schem, in recounting her experiences, shared the simple truth when she said that “there are no innocent civilians” in Gaza. These people are not capable of maintaining, nor do they deserve, their own state.
In the end, it all might well be a moot point anyway. Trump and Netanyahu have both put forward plans to have the population of the Gaza Strip voluntarily relocated. Although details continue to be vague, it seems from reports that several countries have expressed a willingness to take in Gazans, and preliminary plans are starting to be set in place.
While radicals and rioters in the West might storm the streets protesting against “forced displacement, recent polls have found that the vast majority of Gazans support the idea and that they would gladly move if given the option. The war has taken its toll on them as well, and it seems that most would relish the opportunity to start fresh somewhere else. In this case, the argument of who is in charge will be largely irrelevant, since they would be ruling over an empty Strip.
And so, the inescapable reality is that the two-state solution is dead, if for no other reason than because there is no second viable state. Trying to constantly resurrect this dead dream does nothing but waste time that could be spent coming up with more practical solutions.
It’s time to let the two-state myth die and to admit that it was never possible to begin with. With all due respect to Bigfoot, some things are simply too impossible to believe in.
Ilan Goodman is a museum collections professional and exhibition curator. He also serves as a rabbi and educator. He made Aliyah to Israel in 2011 and lives with his wife and children in Beit Shemesh.
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