Two-State Solution Continues to Face Obstacles
As the possibility of a negotiated settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict seems increasingly unlikely to occur by the end of the year, Palestinian citizens continue to urge their officials to conduct a strategic reassessment of the situation and their goals for the disputed territory.
Support for the current consensus solution under discussion, which proposes the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, is waning due in part to the fact that Hamas (whose political apparatus controls the majority of seats within the Palestinian National Authority’s Legislative Council) already controls the Gaza Strip—one of the territories, along with parts of the West Bank, designated for the establishment of a Palestinian state according to the terms of current peace talks.
Pressure for a resolution continues to mount as chief negotiators for the Palestinian nationalist movement Fatah warn that the continued Israeli rejection of Palestinian terms would result in a Palestinian demand shift to the creation of a binational state—a proposition which Israel would no doubt vehemently oppose.
Paul Shapiro
