It’s time for Palestinians to lobby for a ‘one state’ solution

Israel has benefited greatly from the lack of consensus among the Palestinian factions in occupied Palestine and the diaspora in terms of the solution that they actually want to see. The occupation state is skilled at divide and rule, allowing Hamas to thrive in Gaza for decades and strengthening the Palestinian Authority while preventing any kind of reconciliation between the two.

Furthermore, playing the “two state” illusion card allows the Israelis to delay a viable solution while justifying their oppression. This tactic has worked comfortably, with them arguing that they are negotiating over “disputed” territory which has a complicated history.

Through the Oslo Accords, they afforded the Palestinians some autonomy which allowed them to brush aside criticisms of apartheid. The Palestinians do indeed have some autonomy in a few Bantustan-like areas, and although they possess no real self-determination or control over polices that dominate their lives, they are still said to be voting for their elected officials.

While this charade plays on, Israel continues to confiscate land, bringing in more Jews from around the world while denying equal rights to the Palestinians. Moreover, its ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians is ongoing, with home demolitions, revocation of residence rights and similar tactics dating back to the 1950s in the so-called “demographic war”.

By the time any “solution” is feasible, the Palestinian population will be severely diminished and perhaps even a very small minority in their own homeland. This is also true for the Palestinians living in what’s known as Israel proper. Although the state claims to be a democracy for all of its citizens, in July 2018 it adopted the Nation State Law which makes it clear that Israel is a country exclusively for the Jewish people. This law is one of many that demonstrate Israel’s status as an apartheid state. It has a Law of Return, for example, but only for Jews. The Palestinians’ legitimate right to return to their land is denied. The Citizenship Law ensures that Palestinian Israeli citizens who marry Palestinians from the West Bank, the Gaza Strip of the diaspora can’t take their spouses to live in Israel.

READ: Palestinians in the diaspora have a key role to play and must not be marginalised

According to a recent report in the Jerusalem Post, from the outset of the establishment of the state of Israel the education of Arab citizens has suffered from blatant and institutionalised inequality. The triangle of discrimination sees the unequal allocation of budgets; unequal representation in the higher echelons of the system; and inequality in the curriculum. These factors are blamed for the increase in crime within the Arab community since it is in education where most solutions lie; it generally deters criminal activity.

Such laws, and the mindset behind them, almost guarantee that Palestinians will never have equal rights regardless of any solution that Israel seeks. Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked said recently that, “There is no real solution. We should manage the conflict.”

At a time when the world has rallied around the issue of equal rights for all in the United States and elsewhere, it is time for the Palestinians to unite under this banner rather than the moribund “two state solution”. A consensus on lobbying for a single state solution in which all people retain their identities and have equal rights under the law is the way forward.

One of the reasons that Palestinians have failed to unite under this banner is that they fear losing their national identity. A recent public opinion poll by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research found that most Palestinians want a state that represents them with their national identity at its core. Despite knowing that “two states” is not a viable solution, the one state approach has not been able to garner much support. The poll result showed that 39 per cent of Palestinians still back “two states”, while just 20 per cent favour a single state.

READ: The two-state paradigm is not a ‘legitimate political process’

If all of the Palestinian factions adopt a unified position on “one state”, then it will send a strong signal to Israel that the game is up. It promotes itself as a democratic country and that the Palestinians have autonomy, with the borders still being “negotiated”, but Israel has no intention of basing anything on an equitable framework. The influence and power of the pro-Israel lobby in the West, as well as the so-called Abraham Accords with some Arab states, gives the occupation state no incentive whatsoever to work towards a just peace.

The conflict risks being forgotten within the international community so a different strategy needs to be adopted. Social media must be used to expose the blatant oppression inflicted upon the people of occupied Palestine by the Zionist state. Israel is scared of a one state solution because all of the Palestinians in the occupied territories will suddenly have to be given full rights as citizens; failure to do this will see the “democratic state” label fly out of the window.

We all know that no matter what solution the Palestinians agree to they have to agree to compromise, but this cannot get in the way of ensuring that the oppression is brought to an end. The Palestinians should stop waiting for a miracle that may never arrive; they need to be more proactive.

The one state solution, or a variant thereof, will give opportunities for both Israelis and Palestinians to thrive, as long as equal rights also thrive, especially in terms of education and economic advancement. The occupation stifles all aspects of Palestinian life; equality is a must to get out of this vicious downward spiral. A strategic, non-violent struggle is the way to do this. The Israelis and their allies use many tactics to maintain the occupation, but I believe that if the factions unite and go down this path, it will be something that the occupation state and its friends in the West simply cannot ignore.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.