The Two-State Solution: Why it Will Not Work (Part 1)

The Palestinians Don't Want it

This is Part 1 of a four-part series examining the proposed two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

The two-state solution is the approach advocated by the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations. At first glance, it appears to be a relatively simple strategy: divide the land of Israel into two states—one for Israel and one for the Palestinians.

You would think such a plan could work.

But it won’t.

Why the Two-State Solution Fails

The two-state solution is destined to fail for four fundamental reasons:

• Palestinians don’t want it

• Israel won’t have it

• Islam can’t allow it

• God’s Word forbids it

In this first article, we will focus on the first point:

Palestinians Do Not Want a Two-State Solution

The Palestinians have made it abundantly clear that they want a one-state solution. Their stated goal is control of the land “from the river (the Jordan River) to the sea (the Mediterranean Sea),” resulting in a Jew-free state.

They do not want peace with Israel. They want Israel eliminated.

Can you name even one Palestinian leader who is preparing his people for peace with Israel?

The Palestinian Charter, advanced by Yassir Arafat, founder of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), still calls for the destruction of Israel. How do you negotiate peace with people who refuse to recognize your right to exist?

Notably, no Palestinian-produced map of the land includes Israel. Every such map portrays all the territory—from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River—as Palestine, marked in the colors of the PLO flag.

What they want is “Judenrein.” This Nazi term means “clean of Jews” or “purified of Jews.” That is the outcome the Palestinians seek.

Rejection of Peace Offers

If the issue were merely self-determination, why have the Palestinians rejected every peace proposal ever offered to them?

These offers have included “land for peace,” most notably Gaza.

In 2005, Israel made a serious gesture toward peace by forcibly removing its own citizens from Gaza to offer it as the beginning of a Palestinian state. What was the response?

• Missile barrages against Israeli civilian communities

• Continued support for terrorist organizations such as Hamas

So much for peace.

Rather than building Gaza into a functioning, sovereign state, massive amounts of international aid were diverted toward preparations for Israel’s destruction.

Instead of investing in infrastructure—roads, schools, hospitals, and housing—the Hamas-led government purchased weapons, trained terrorists, and constructed hundreds of miles of tunnels. Notably, not a single bomb shelter was built for civilian protection.

“Pay for Slay”

International aid has also funded what is commonly known as a “pay-for-slay” program. Under this system:

• Those who kill Jews and are imprisoned receive financial rewards

• Families of terrorists who die while committing attacks receive lifetime stipends

Once again—so much for peace.

There has never been a key Palestinian leader willing to recognize Israel’s right to exist. Peace negotiations are impossible when one side denies the legitimacy of the other’s existence.

A History of Rejection

Over the last 75 years, multiple two-state solutions have been proposed. Every one of them has been rejected by the Palestinians.

These include:

• The Peel Commission plan (1937)

• The United Nations partition plan (1947)

• Various American mediation efforts

• Israeli proposals, including the Camp David offer in 2000

A two-state solution has been offered seven times, and each time it has been refused.

Arab rejection of Israel’s existence is well documented. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Amin al-Husseini, famously declared that “not even the size of a postage stamp” would be conceded to a Jewish state.

More recently, senior Hamas leader Khaled Mashal stated:

“We reject this notion of a two-state solution, as Palestinians would have to recognize the legitimacy of the Zionist entity.”

The Real Objective

The Palestinians do not want their own state alongside Israel. They want a single, Jew-free state.

Using Nazi terminology, they are not seeking a two-state solution—they are seeking a “final solution” to the Jewish problem: the removal and annihilation of Jews from the land.

A Man-Made Solution That Will Fail

If all this is true, why does the world continue to push a two-state solution?

Because it is the best solution man can devise.

But this man-made solution is destined to fail.

It is yet another example of humanity turning away from God, creating a problem, and then—while still rejecting God—attempting to solve it apart from Him.

The Only True Path to Peace

There can be no peace in the world apart from peace with God, and peace comes only through Jesus—the Prince of Peace (Sar Shalom).

As the Apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 1:19–20:

“For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”

Let us pray that the Gospel of Peace finds its way into the hearts of Jewish people, Palestinian people, and all people—because there can be no peace apart from the Prince of Peace.

—Stuart