A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Monday, July 14, 2014

Did Netanyahu Just Rule Out a Two-State Solution?

Binyamin Netanyahu's press conference this weekend was predictably mostly about Gaza, but in the process he also was more open in discussing his vision of future negotiations. And as this Times of Israel article notes:
He made explicitly clear that he could never, ever, countenance a fully sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank. He indicated that he sees Israel standing almost alone on the frontlines against vicious Islamic radicalism, while the rest of the as-yet free world does its best not to notice the march of extremism. And he more than intimated that he considers the current American, John Kerry-led diplomatic team to be, let’s be polite, naive.
That would seem to torpedo a two-state solution. But the perils of a one-state solution are well-known: if democratic, demography will in time imperil Israel's Jewish identity; if non-democratic, another element if Israel's self image would be imperiled.

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