Binational state - possible solution

Walid M. Sadi

from: the Jordan Times (used w/permission)

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Qureia has recently put part of the blame for the non-implementation of the roadmap on Washington and the other parties of the so-called Quartet. This is most probably correct, since neither Washington nor Moscow, the European Union or the United Nations have done all that it takes to enforce the formula for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Palestinian prime minister also puts most of the blame on Israel for the failure to translate the roadmap into reality. What is missing is Qureia's opinion on the role of the Palestinian side, if any, in derailing the roadmap.

When Prime Mminister Mahmoud Abbas resigned, one would have thought that the Palestinians would take part of the blame for the near demise of the roadmap. When there is failure in negotiations, it is seldom the total responsibility of only one side; of course, responsibility varies in proportion among the negotiating parties, but it is rarely to blame on one side.

All this is now academic. What is more relevant is how to reactivate the only viable formula for peace between the two sides. This is where Qureia has stepped in with his daring threat that if Israel does not do its part in the process aiming to execute the roadmap, his people would opt for a binational state, made up of both Palestinians and Israelis, instead of calling for an independent Palestinian state.

Where Qureia may have gone wrong is in presenting this proposal as a threat rather than an operational solution to the Palestinian question. When all fails, the parties may revert to old ideas for the resolution of the Palestinian question.

It should be recalled that the 1947 UN Partition resolution called for some form of close relations between the two peoples, especially at the economic and security levels. That plan rested on the well-founded premise that the territory of Palestine is simply too small to be completely divided into two viable parts. As a matter of fact, the reason why all the attempts to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict were doomed thus far is primarily because the territory that the two sides seek to divide is simply too limited. Hence the original UN idea to have the two peoples maintain close relations and cooperation.

On the other hand, so much blood was shed during the past decades that any meaningful relationships between the two peoples is made difficult, if not outright impossible. By resorting to having a binational state divided on functional basis, the two peoples may find a way out of the stalemate. This very idea, probably more possible before the first Intifada than now, may help breathe new life into the seemingly dead-ended peace process.