The Two State Solution: A Dead End

Source: AxisOfLogic, 10-4-2006
Reply to Jimmy Carter's article ‘Colonization of Palestine Precludes Peace' which appeared here (AxisOfLogic) March 13, 2006.
I believe that the time for a two state solution is passed. The reason is that the settlements, the Judaization of east Jerusalem (al-Quds), the cutting up of the West Bank by 300 miles of segregated-for Jews-only-highways, the wall whose confiscation of Palestinian land has destroyed agricultural areas, and peoples lives, is an irreversible process, or at least a process incurring permanent damage and a permanent transformation of the landscape. It is difficult to imagine the evacuation of the large settlement blocks, some of which are as large as cities. The settlement of Ariel, in the heart of the West Bank, has a population of 30,000 and its own university.
Even if a two-state solution became a reality, "Israel" would then exists, as it does now, as a state that discriminates against its non-Jewish minorities with a set of Basic Laws, amounting to its constitution, making it clear that "Israel" is a state for Jews only and that others are at best tolerated and at worse, welcome to leave.
Mr. Carter feels that "Israel" has a right to exist as a refuge for Holocaust survivors and as a compensation for Jewish suffering in the past because of discrimination in Europe and because of the Holocaust. That, at least is my understanding of his position as a result of my having been attentive to much that he has said and written for some years. Mr. Carter must also understand that Palestinians too are victims of the Holocaust, as their land has been taken, and is being taken, to pay for the sins of Europeans.
Mr. Carter certainly knows that the genesis of the state of "Israel" began in the 19th century; the earliest European settlements were in 1882 and the growth rate of Zionist Jews migrating into Palestine from Europe was a steadily increasing curve well before Hitler`s rise to power in Germany. Further, Mr. Carter may or may not know that no more than 2% of Holocaust survivors choose to migrate to "Israel". The connection between the Holocaust and the state of "Israel" consists only in the propaganda use "Israel" has made of the Holocaust. The state of "Israel" has exploited the suffering that was the Holocaust to justify its existence which was established at the expense of the Palestinians.
In addition, "Israel" exists today because it succeeded in carrying out the plan of the early Zionist, which was to ethnically cleanse the indigenous Arab and Christian population. It did so in 1948 by massacres and the threats of massacres - 800,000 Palestinians were ethnically cleansed, and two to three thousand Palestinians were massacred in about 30 villages. Probably 50,000 Palestinians have been killed by "Israel" since it became a state in 1948, according to estimates by Haifa University historian, Ilan Pappe.
No state has an intrinsic right to exist if it fails to respect human rights and fails to generally abide by international law. A state whose existence requires that it keep 3.5 million people under occupation, deprived of basic dignity and without human rights and, in effect, in a giant outdoor prison for 39 years is suspect in claiming a "right to exist". For "Israel" to continue to exist as a Jewish state, it must continue to defy UN Resolution 194 which requires the repatriation of the Palestinians who were expelled in 1948 and it must continue to defy the International declaration of Human Rights which proscribes the deprivation of rights based on race or religion.
Mr. Carter stated that freedom and justice for both "Israelis" and Palestinians could prevail if three basic premises were honored -- the recognizing of "Israel`s" right to exist must be recognized by the Palestinians; the killing of innocent people "suicide" (self-sacrifice) bombs [by the Palestinians] cannot be condoned; and third, Palestinians must live in peace and dignity, of which permanent "Israeli" settlements are an obstacle.
There is an important non-symmetry in these conclusions. Palestinians must recognize "Israel`s" right to exist as a state, but there is no parallel imperative that "Israelis" must recognize the right of a Palestinian state to exists, and that, of course, means a viable state. Palestinians must end the practice of suicide (self-sacrifice) bombing, but "Israel" is not required to end the assassinations of Palestinians leaders whom "Israel" considers a threat, considering that those targeted assassinations, kill and maim as many bystanders as a typical suicide bombing. That, at least, is not explicitly stated as a condition for peace, and thus has a lower priority.
There is an implication here that Jewish (Zionist) rights in Palestine are primary and Palestinians rights secondary. Palestinians are accorded the right to live in peace and dignity. But not necessarily under statehood, while it is incumbent on everyone to recognize "Israel`s" right to exists.
Former President Carter takes pride that during his administration, sanctions were put in place which eventually ended the Apartheid regimes of Rhodesia and South Africa. The moral imperative was that the regimes were racist. That is no less true of the State of "Israel".
William James Martin is a free lance writer living in Tampa, Fl. He is an observer of American foreign policy and has previously published article on the Middle East in Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, International Socialist Review, and at Axis of Logic as well as other online magazines. He has also written articles on mathematics. This article first appeared at this URL on alJazeerah.info