After Abbas, One State

Analysis / Interpretation / Press

The once unspeakable idea of a binational Israeli-Palestinian state gained popularity among young Palestinians several years ago—a sharp departure from the mainstream two-state solution. One state, of course, means different things depending on whom you're talking to. For the right-wing Israeli government, one state would mean annexation and segregation of Palestinians; anything else implies the end of the Jewish state. For many older Palestinians, one state only suggests further violence, even civil war, as well as the real possibility that the balance of power would stay with Israel and they would remain second-class citizens.

But for young Palestinians intent on equal rights, the intention is a single democratic country encompassing all of the current territory of Israel, the West Bank and possibly the Gaza Strip and Golan Heights. This generation is willing to risk violence because its members grew up with it. They came of age during the second intifada of the mid-2000s, when Israel retook Palestinian cities in the West Bank. The brutal campaign, orchestrated by suicide bombers, cost the lives of 6,371 Palestinian and 1,137 Israelis; on both sides, at least half of the victims were civilians who did not participate in the hostilities.

Source:

https://www.newsweek.com/2018/07/20/palestinians-israel-abbas-gaza-west-bank-peace-pa-palestinian-authority-hamas-1016978.html