Will the Two-State Solution be on the Cards Again?

President Donald Trump and PM Benjamin Netanyahu met again after the UN General Assembly 2018 Meeting with all its speeches. After the joint meeting, the Two-State Solution question was raised at the Netanyahu-Trump press conference for the umpteenth time. Trump has given an indication that he personally “would go” for the Two-State solution. Netanyahu never said anything apart from twitching a foot in discomfort. Netanyahu did not commit himself verbally at all.

Trump assumes that Netanyahu supports the two-state solution but this appears to be doubtful. He cannot commit himself with any certainty. On the one side, Netanyahu’s extreme right-wing Zionist religious and the ultra-Orthodox Parties will break up his coalition. Habayit Hayehudi has made no bones about its opposition to the two-state solution. Most UN members support the two-state solution and it is easier said than its possibility of achievement in the future.

The mutual back-slapping between Netanyahu and Trump will harm Israel in the long term. Had Trump authorised the move of the US Embassy to West Jerusalem and stated that, the opposition to the US Embassy would have been avoided. Trump did not state that and the Palestinian reaction was detrimental to the US and made a very poor situation even worse. After all the Knesset and many official government offices are in West Jerusalem including the High Court and this has not been a bone of contention.

Referring to Trump's support of Israel's actions in Syria, Netanyahu said he was very satisfied with the president's "unreserved support for the State of Israel and its right to self-defence in the context of the event [the crisis with Russia over the downing of a Russian plane in Syria] and in general." 1

A day later PM Benjamin Netanyahu delivered his General Assembly Speech. As we all know, Netanyahu is great at rhetoric. Most of his speech was devoted to condemning Iran and all the various Mossad secret information on Iran’s nuclear capabilities complete with diagrams as only Netanyahu knows how to deliver to his UN audience.  Some of the information revealed was the nuclear sites not far from Beirut’s airport. Displaying photographs from the podium of the United Nations General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday accused Iran of maintaining a secret atomic warehouse in Tehran, proving its intent to develop nuclear weapons despite the accord it reached with major powers in 2015. 2

His speech received much applause from the Israeli and US delegations. The hall was half empty and it is difficult to estimate how much applause he received from the other members present. Briefing Israeli reporters travelling with Netanyahu in the US on Friday, a senior Israeli official said the prime minister's revelation of the atomic warehouse and its contents have caused “growing pressure inside Iran.” 3 While most of us are aware that Iran does pose a threat to Israel. The Iranian leadership rhetoric against Israel and its support for its destruction by their own admittance cannot be denied and Israel has the right to defend itself. Iran’s human rights record is shocking and opposition to the Iranian regime is not tolerated. This part of Netanyahu’s speech reflects a truth that cannot be refuted.

The problem with the Palestinians was hardly emphasized. We all know that peace with Israel’s Arab neighbours depends on achieving peace with the Palestinians. The two-state solution that appears unattainable is still the only game in town. There are  two main obstacles to getting there:

1. The weakness of Mahmoud Abbas and his inability to make any movement towards peace because of the inability of Hamas to recognize Israel’s right to exist or even to coordinate any stand for peace negotiations together with the Palestinian Authority with Israel. As far as Hamas is concerned, Israel is occupied territory since the day it was established in 1948.
2. The establishment and expansion of Israeli Jewish settlements in territory captured in during the June 1967 War and Israel’s refusal to withdraw towards the pre-1967 lines and giving up these settlements. Under these conditions, a future Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital will never be viable or negotiated.

If these two problems were solved then the two-state solution has a chance. It will still not be a piece of cake to achieve. Viewing the scenario for a two-state solution today is an impossible exercise and under the present circumstances will just not happen and the stalemate will continue for many years.

Netanyahu has stated in his speech that “Some believe that Israel cannot be both Jewish and democratic. This is false. Israel is both, and Israel will always remain both”. This is not really true.

Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Judaism is the state religion of Israel and has always been so since Israel’s establishment. Muslims and Christians have total freedom of religion. This is not true of Reform and Conservative Jews whose rights of worship are not free. Their rabbis have no recognition in Israel and they are forbidden to marry couples. DEMOCRACY AND ORTHODOX JUDAISM ARE NOT COMPATIBLE! Netanyahu is the king of rhetoric but not the king of truth.

Netanyahu’s ramble about the Nation-State Law as being non-discriminatory and degrading towards Israel’s non-Jewish citizens is also not entirely true. Another example is in culture. Culture is under the control of the Minister of Culture and Sport, Miri Regev. She views avant-garde culture as not patriotic and will be deprived of state funding. She has her own agenda of what culture should be and she sticks by it! Miri Regev maintains that Israel is a democracy and that she has the democratic right to do as she wishes on cultural issues according to her worldview. Satire in cultural activity directed against the government is viewed as unpatriotic. In fact, criticism of the government, especially on the occupation is viewed as treacherous and those who are left-wing are ostracised most severely. Visitors suspected of political views that are not sympathetic to the Netanyahu Government are often questioned at Ben Gurion Airport on suspicion of wanting to harm Israel. So where is democracy in Israel?  

References:

1. 26 Sep. 2018, https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/after-trump-meeting-netanyahu-backs-palestinian-state-under-israeli-security-control-1.6511190. Accessed 30 Sep. 2018.
2. 28 Sep. 2018, https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/09/1021192. Accessed 30 Sep. 2018
3. 29 Sep. 2018, https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-was-to-reveal-third-site-in-speech-on-iran-but-intel-chiefs-said-no/. Accessed 30 Sep. 2018.