Is a two-state solution possible after the Gaza war?
America’s president, in one of his many public statements about the nearly month-long war in Gaza. Rishi Sunak, the British prime minister, has made similar comments; so has Emmanuel Macron, the French president. An emergency meeting of the Arab League last month ended with a call for “serious negotiations" towards a two-state solution.
Read all our coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas When Israel left Gaza in 2005, uprooting some 8,000 Jewish settlers from a territory it had controlled since 1967, no one knew quite what to make of the decision. Some hoped that Israel’s willingness to cede occupied territory would be a trend, a step towards a final settlement with the Palestinians. Others saw a canny ploy: relinquishing control of Gaza might help Israel entrench its control of the West Bank.
The latter view turned out to be correct. Similar confusion has emerged since October 7th, when Israel began planning a ground invasion of Gaza after Hamas, the militant Islamist group that controls the territory, massacred 1,400 Israelis. Palestinians fear the war will lead to a second naqba (“catastrophe"), referring to the mass displacement that accompanied Israel’s birth in 1948.
Far-right Israeli ministers hope it will offer a chance to reassert control over Gaza and rebuild the dismantled Jewish settlements. A few hopeful sorts, among them Mr Biden, hope it will provide a chance to revive the comatose Israeli-Palestinian peace process. For now, that is a far-off dream: Israeli generals expect months of fighting.
Read more on livemint.com
